Iran to resume rice imports

TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Ministry of Agriculture will resume order registration for rice importers from Jan. 21, Financial Tribune reported on Saturday.

The order registration will be valid for a three-month period, until June 21, extendable by a further one month, the report said.

Any rice shipments as per the new orders need to be cleared through Iranian customs by July 22, after which all imports will be banned, Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati was quoted as saying.

Every year during the rice harvest season, Iran's government bans rice imports in support of local farmers and domestic production.

Iranians consume 3.2 million tons of rice a year while domestic production stands at 2.2 million tons.?