Iran has imported 243 tonnes of rice from the United States in the last six months, the first time the Islamic state has bought the grain directly from its old foe in three decades, an Iranian newspaper said on Monday. Business daily Sarmayeh said Iran had previously bought rice as well as wheat from the United States, but that this trade took place via a third country.
It did not give any details of who sold the rice to Iran. "Statistics in the first six months of the current year show that Iran has directly imported 243 tonnes of rice from the United States," it said, referring to the Iranian year which started in late March. The amount represents a small part of Iran's estimated annual rice consumption of about 3 million tonnes, of which Sarmayeh said 2.25 million tonnes were produced domestically.
It cited estimates from the Commerce Ministry. "Therefore Iran needs to import some 750,000 tonnes of rice to meet its annual demand, and it has imported about 800,000 tonnes of rice in the first half of the current (Iranian) year," Sarmayeh said, suggesting imports already exceeded annual needs.
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