Delegation of Indian Rice Exporters to Visit

Iran is one of the biggest consumers of rice and imports the product from India as well as Pakistan and Uruguay.  In 2015-16, Iran’s basmati rice imports from India almost halved compared with a year before to stand at $571 million, IRNA reported. During the first half of 2016, India exported around $356 million worth of the product to Iran, according to the India-based Economic Times. Iranians consume about 3.2 million tons of rice a year while domestic production stands at around 2.2 million tons, Financial Tribune reported. Therefore, there is a need for around 1 million tons of imports every year. The government periodically places a ban on imports during the harvest season to support local farmers. The two northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran are home to a majority of Iran’s paddy fields.