TEHRAN, Iran, July.2
Trend:
Around 85 to 90 percent of Iran's imported commodities are basic material, intermediate goods, and production line machinery and naturally, the foreign currency rate affects the purchase price, said Vice Chairman of the Commission to facilitate the import of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce.
Delay in supply of basic material to factories has caused a shortage of consumer commodities and it would increase prices, said Mohammad Reza Faroughi, Trend reports citing ILNA.
The imported commodity prices have increased 200 to 500 percent in the last Iranian year (started March 20, 2020).
"In regard to increasing of imported commodity prices, the customs tariff requires changes that have not implemented yet. The increase of imported commodity prices that are the basic material for production could be due to delay in a release from customs that is because of instability in the economy," he added.
"The obstacle in tariff could not be really implemented because while the purchase is based on NIMA rate yet the official foreign currency rate is still 42,000 rial per USD so imported commodities pay four times less custom tariff therefore currently tariff profit could not be considered as an obstacle on import," Reza Faroughi noted.
"The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade should ban the import of commodities that could be similarly produced in the country. Import of consumer commodities is done unofficially and domestic producers are facing smuggling which is destructive," he said.