The head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce warned on Wednesday July 31 that government mismanagement of the clearance of goods at customs will push the country into food shortages in the coming months.
ILNA reports that Assadollah Asgaroladi said differences between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade, together with customs, means the country will have to deal with various shortages as early as September or October.
Asgaroladi stressed that the snags at customs mean that food shipments are approaching their expiry while stuck at customs, stored in cold houses at great expense.
The Central Bank is demanding that importers pay the difference between the subsidized foreign exchange rate and the market exchange rate before goods can be cleared. Importers claim it’s not feasible to pay the hefty difference.
