The government will allow private sector traders to import up to 600 tons of rice, Deputy Agriculture Minister Ali Qanbari said on Tuesday. Rice imports have until recently been banned by the government since October 2014, with the aim of protecting domestic farmers and increasing self-sufficiency, ISNA reported. Based on the ministry’s forecasts, Iran’s rice production will grow to 1.7 million tons in the current Iranian year (started March 21) from last year’s 1.65 million tons. Among major rice exporters in the region, India has been eying a return to the Iranian market as basmati rice prices plunged more than 50% in the past two years after Iran cut purchases and Indian farmers boosted cultivation.
