Azerbaijan, Baku, May.8/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran has allocated $1.6 billion to import staple foods and $157 million to import medicine and medical equipment since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21), IRNA reported, citing a statement by the Central Bank.
There is no problem for allocating dollar to import staple foods and medicine, according to the report.
On Tuesday, the Mehr News Agency quoted an Iranian MP as saying that Iranian Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani has said that no official rate dollar has been allocated to import medicine.
The MP, who remained anonymous, added that Bahmani has said official rate dollar had allocated to import staple foods, such as edible oil.
Previously, Iran's Health Ministry official Hossein Ayati said some 97 percent of Iran's required medicine is currently produced domestically, adding that about 50 percent of necessary raw material for producing the medicine is imported.
Last year, some $1.7 billion was allocated to import medicine which is not produced inside the country, the official said.
In November 2012, the health ministry of Iran called the Central Bank to earmark $2 billion for importing medicine to cope with the domestic shortage as a result of international sanctions.
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