Economy, Domestic Economy
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Mazandaran Frost-Stricken Farmers to Get Loans

Mazandaran Frost-Stricken Farmers to Get Loans
Mazandaran Frost-Stricken Farmers to Get Loans

The government decided on Wednesday to allocate 2 trillion rials ($51.28 million at market exchange rate) in loans with an interest rate of 10% to orchard owners in Mazandaran Province who suffered huge losses inflicted by frost.  Following the extreme cold of two weeks ago, the government has also ordered the guaranteed purchase of damaged oranges at 5,500 rials per kilo (about 14 cents at market exchange rates) to be used in processing industries, IRNA reported. “About 1,000 tons of oranges have been bought from the local orange growers in this province,” said Daryush Aqapour, an official with the Rural Cooperatives of Mazandaran Province. The frost caused 9.4 trillion rials (over $241 million) in damage to orchards in Mazandaran, according to the governor general of the northern province, Rabi’ Fallah. According to Delavar Heydari, the head of Mazandaran Agricultural Jihad Organization, between 250,000 and 300,000 tons of oranges and about 90,000 tons of kiwis have been lost to the frost. More than 110,000 hectares of land go under the cultivation of citrus fruit in Mazandaran every year, meeting nearly 50% of the domestic demand.

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