Azerbaijan, Baku, July 31/ Trend M. Moezzi /
Although the chicken shortage forced economic planners to take special measures, it seems that the price on chicken will be coming down.
This drop occurred because of imported chicken. Yesterday, Mohammad Reza Naderi, deputy head of Iran's Customs Administration, said that 32 containers of chicken had arrived in Iran last Thursday.
The shipments came from Turkey and Brazil and, at the request of Iran's Industry Minister, passed through customs without paying dues. Naderi said that his agency will wait one working week before collecting customs duties.
The process of processing the shipment took less than an hour, he added. At present, customs is working around the clock to clear manufacturing and essential goods.
So it appears the price on chicken will drop, but questions about the price on imported chicken remain without answers.
According to producers, the final price on one chicken on Iran's domestic poultry industry is more than 70,000 rials while the government says the price is 50,000 rials.
On the other hand, a member of Iran's Majlis (parliament) announced the government's final cost for imported chickens - 32,000 rials. If that figure is correct then the gap between it and chicken that costs 50,000 rials a kilo will be a new problem.
There is a regrettable fact that outside the country chicken costs $1.50 or 30,000 rials a kilo and is then sold at the current price to domestic buyers, Ebrahim Neko, a member of the Majlis economic commission said.
The MP added that the price on imported chickens is 27,000 rials a kilo. The price goes up to 32,000 rials a kilo with tariffs and import costs.
For about a week the Majlis has been discussing higher prices to see how it can help comabt inflation in Iran.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that higher prices on chicken could be replaced with higher prices for other products.
