Deputy Agriculture Minister Ali Akbar Mehrfard announced the end of the annual ban in a letter dated Nov. 28, the ISNA semi-official news agency reported. Other agencies carried similar reports.

The government usually imposes the ban for a few months each year to support local prices and help Iranian growers during the harvest season.

Iran consumes 3 million tonnes of rice a year. About one million tonnes is imported, mainly from India and Pakistan.