Week in Brief 06.07.2018

The Central Bank of Iran has released a list of businesses which have received US dollars at the 42000 IRR per USD currency exchange rate. The list was published after numerous companies received foreign currency at the government set exchange rate, yet offered their goods on the market at the black market exchange rate, nearly doubling the price of numerous goods.

Various newspapers complained about the absence of automotive and pharmaceutical importers on the list. The President had given the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade a 15 day ultimatum to release the names of automotive importers who had received foreign currency at the governmental exchange rate. The Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade has so far resisted against releasing the names of violators. Last week, the Ministry of Communications released the names of companies which had received US dollars from the government in order to import mobile phones. The release of these names with the goal of creating transparency caused support among people and experts alike.

In the list released by the Central Bank, a number of goods draw attention as they cannot be considered basic necessities. For example, 20 million euros have been allocated for the import of tea and a further 12 million euros have been allocated for the import of butter. Such allocations seem highly suspect especially when you consider that Iranian tea growers have severe problems in selling their produce.