More than 1 million tons of rice were imported into Iran during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22).
From the total imports, around 20% or 218,000 tons were imported by the Government Trading Corporation, IRNA reported.
GTC, affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry, is in charge of ensuring an adequate supply of essential goods, including wheat, rice and cooking oil to the local market.
The lion’s share of Iran’s rice imports come from India and neighboring Pakistan. The UAE, Thailand, Turkey and Iraq are other traditional rice exporters to Iran.
A total of 1.75 million tons of rice were imported into Iran during the fiscal 2021-22. The import volume set a 10-year record high, according to the secretary of Iran Rice Association.
“Last year’s imports was more than twice the volume the country needed to make for the domestic production deficiency,” Jamil Alizadeh Shayeq was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
A total of 2.25 million tons of rice were produced in Iran during the fiscal 2021-22, according to the deputy head of Iran Rice Union, Ahmad Eshraqi.
“According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, more than 1.2 million tons of rice were imported last year,” he was quoted by the Young Journalists Club as saying.
The three northern provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan are Iran’s rice production hubs.