BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 18. Iran’s Central Bank ranks as the fifth-largest in the world for gold imports, said the bank's governor, Mohammad Farzin, Trend reports.
As Farzin laid it all on the line in a recent statement to reporters, Iran has hit the nail on the head by converting 20 percent of its reserves into gold.
The governor added that from the start of the current Iranian year (from March 20 through December 17, 2024), the Central Bank has allocated $51 billion for imports. Forecasts indicate that by the end of the year (March 20, 2025), this figure will rise to $70 billion, compared to $65 billion for the previous Iranian year (from March 21, 2023 through March 19, 2024).
Farzin further noted that Iran has set aside $15 billion for necessary imports from March 20, 2024, to March 20, 2025, with $11.5 billion for agricultural and food products and $3.5 billion for pharmaceuticals.
According to the Iranian Customs Administration, in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (from March 20 through November 20, 2024), Iran imported 61.5 tons of gold worth $4.6 billion. This marks a significant increase of 462 percent in value and 371 percent in weight compared to the same period last year (from March 21 through November 21, 2023).
