Lockdown disciplines returned to the province of Tehran for a one-week period to tackle the spread of the coronavirus infection in the epicenter of the outbreak in Iran.
Lockdown disciplines returned to the province of Tehran for a one-week period to tackle the spread of the coronavirus infection in the epicenter of the outbreak in Iran.
Those who disrupt peace in Afghanistan are the United States and its allies in the region while Iran’s policy is focused on promoting peace in the war-torn country, a lawmaker said.
Production at power plants has increased by more than 2,000 megawatts in the past four years thanks to timely maintenance and repair programs, director general of the technical office of Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.
“Punctual measures have helped improve the capacity of gas units by 1,565 MW and added 464 MW to steam units,” ISNA quoted Esmail Namazi as saying.
“The increase was possible with $15 million in costs. It needs mention that the construction of a new 1,000 MW power plant normally costs $500 million,” Namazi added.
Desalinated water accounts for a meager 0.1% of the total annual water consumption in Iran while in some neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia it is 70%.
Iran's annual water consumption is about 99 billion cubic meters, of which less than 100 million cubic meters (per annum) is produced via 60 desalination plants in the coastal regions, namely Khuzestan, Hormozgan and Bushehr, ILNA reported.
Approximately 142 million cubic meters of seawater is desalinated on a daily basis around the globe. However, Iran's share is a meager 250,000 cubic meters.
Although Iran is located in an arid and semi-arid area, access to vast resources of saltwater in the north (Caspian Sea) and south (Persian Gulf) is a major advantage that has not been used as expected.
Two decades of drought are taking a severe toll on Iran’s depleting water resources. To handle the worsening water crisis, desalination is becoming a viable option in many countries where seawater is in abundance.
A total of 450 tons of medicinal herbs were exported from Iran during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 20-Sept. 21), registering a 40% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
The Statistical Center of Iran has released a new report, reviewing the price changes in 53 food items during the month ending Sept. 21–the sixth month of the current Iranian year.
The biggest month-on-month price rise for a food item during the month under review in urban areas was recorded for cucumbers with 22.3%. A kilogram of cucumbers was sold at 70,372 rials (24 cents).
The second and third biggest month-on-month price increase during the period was registered for eggplant with 21.6% and bananas with 20.4%, the Statistical Center of Iran reported.
A kilogram of eggplants was sold at 56,987 rials (19 cents) and a kilogram of bananas went for 209,255 rials (70 cents) last month.
The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade's review of the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Aug. 21) shows the production of 16 industrial products (out of 28 under review) registered growth during the period compared to the corresponding period of the year before.
Iran’s non-oil foreign trade stood at 62.84 million tons worth $30.34 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 20-Sept. 21), indicating a 28% decline in value compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to Mehdi Mirashrafi, the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, H1 non-oil exports accounted for 46.31 million tons worth $13.56 billion and imports constituted 16.52 million tons worth $16.78 billion of the total trade figure.
As a result, the country’s trade deficit stood at $3.22 billion over the period under review.
Compared with the corresponding period of last year (March 21-Sept. 22, 2019), exports and imports registered a 35% and 21% decline in value, respectively.
Iran’s foreign trade stood at $42.16 billion during the same period of last year, with exports hovering around $20.94 billion and imports at $21.22 billion.
Gasoline was the country’s top exported commodity in H1 followed by polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, methanol and urea.
Kish Air will resume flights to Dubai as of Oct. 5 after months of closure due to Covid-19 outbreak.
The number of importers of livestock and poultry feed raw materials has reduced by 70% in the first half of the current year (March 20-Sept. 21).
According to Abolhassan Khalili, the head of Livestock and Poultry Feed Importers Union, 403 companies were engaged in the import of livestock and poultry feed during the first half of the last Iranian year, which number has now fallen to 111 and counting.
“Unlike what most officials assume, money transfer is a much bigger problem than the government’s allocation of foreign currency. The transfer of foreign currencies other than the South Korean won, the Omani rial, the Iraqi dinar and the Pakistani rupee creates multiple challenges for importers. The 56% decline in the import of unprocessed vegetable oil, 60% soybean meal, 23% barley and the 35% decrease in oilseed import from March 20 to Sept. 11 compared with the corresponding period of last year is indicative of import problems,” he was quoted as saying by IRIB News.
Tehran stocks built on gains in the last trading session and opened Saturday trade 2.85% higher amid rising demand for most stock categories.
The main index of Tehran Stock Exchange, TEDPIX, rose 42,719 points for the day to close at 1,546,146 points.
TSE 30 Index, which tracks the performance 30 giant companies with the highest market cap, showed a solid 3.95% growth and the equal-weighted index was up 0.8%. The rally swept through a broad range of shares with blue chips on a higher pedestal.
After reaching new peaks in the last trading session, advance of the dollar against the national currency paused at the start of new trading week.
The US currency dipped more than 4,000 rials on Saturday and was quoted at 295,500 rials in the open market across the country or down 1%. It had gained more than 5% last week to post an all-time high of 300,000 rials on Thursday.
Other major currencies also retreated. One euro fetched 345,400 rials, dropping 1.4% or 3,550 rials compared to Thursday’s close. The UK pound sterling was down 0.4% at 382,000 rials.
The greenback was tagged 284,520 rials at licensed exchange bureaus affiliated to the Central Bank of Iran, down 1.65% compared to the earlier session.
All flights between Iran and Turkey will be called off as of Oct. 4, based on a decision by Turkish civil aviation authority, Maqsoud Asadi-Samani, secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines, said on Friday.
Air quality monitoring stations in the capital city of Tehran showed that its residents were breathing fresh air in September compared to the year-ago month.
According to charts regularly published by Tehran Air Quality Control Company, during the month, moderate air quality status dominated the whole period.
In other words, the Air Pollution Index hovered between 51 and 100 throughout the month.
The index categorizes conditions dictated by a measure of polluting matters into good (0-50), moderate (51-100), unhealthy for sensitive groups (101-150), unhealthy (151-200), very unhealthy (201-300) and hazardous (301-500).
The fluctuating AQI reached its highest level (97) on Sept. 9-10.
TAQCC comparative data show that September 2019 ended with a worsening of air quality. The company recorded 27 moderate days in the month and the remaining three days kept the vulnerable people inside their house, as AQI entered the range of 101 to 150, which translates into unhealthy status for the group.
A broader view, however, reveals that the city’s air quality in the first half of the current Iranian year (March 20-Sept. 21) had worsened compared to the same period of last year.
Citizens experienced 15 good air days and 133 days with moderate air quality. The health-wise vulnerable people were warned to limit their outdoor activities in 36 days, as the index hit the unhealthy status for the sensitive group.
AQI hit the emergency level, hitting the unhealthy status for all in the two remaining days.
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