84% Rise in Rice Imports

More than 1.05 million tons of semi and wholly milled rice worth close to $996 million were imported into Iran during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), registering an 84.4% and 108.4% surge in weight and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year. The rice imports accounted for 6% and 4.2% of the volume and value of Iran’s overall imports respectively during the six-month period, Mizan Online reported. Imports are taking place while every year and during the rice harvest season, the government bans rice imports in support of local farmers and domestic production.

“The ongoing seasonal ban on rice imports will be in effect until Nov. 21,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Yazdan Seif recently said, noting that the ban went into effect in August.

Rice importers bypass the ban during the harvest season by receiving the import permit before the ban period.  Deputy Agriculture Minister Abbas Keshavarz said nearly 2.3 million tons of rice have been produced in the country in the current crop year. Iranians annually consume 3 million tons of rice. The two northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran are home to a majority of Iran’s paddy fields.