Rise in Rice Imports

Close to 178,000 tons of rice worth more than $183.5 million were imported into Iran during the first two months of the current Iranian year (March 21-May 21), registering a 22.1% and 9.1% decline in weight and value respectively compared with the similar period of last year.
Figures released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration also showed that this amount of rice purchases accounted for 3.4% and 2.7% of the volume and value of Iran’s total imports over the period respectively, Mehr News Agency reported. 
Iranians consume 3.2 million tons of the grain every year while domestic production stands at 2.2 million tons.