TEHRAN- Despite the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the Iranian economy, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has managed to supply $32 billion for importing basic commodities since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020), CBI governor informed on Wednesday.

Noting that the supply of foreign currency is done through the domestic Forex Management Integrated System (locally known as NIMA), Abdolnaser Hemmati said during the current Iranian calendar month of Bahman (started on January 20) every day nearly $80 million has been provided through NIMA.

According to the official, since the beginning of the current year, $9.2 billion of subsidized foreign currency (with the official rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) has been supplied for the imports of essential commodities like medicine and agricultural products.

Earlier in January, the Deputy Managing Director of Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC) said that four million tons of basic goods were imported during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020-January 19, 2021).

Amir Talebi noted that 194 ships carrying basic goods have been docked and unloaded in Iranian ports during the 10-month period to supply the country's strategic reserves.

In early October 2020, the CBI had announced that $5.267 billion was supplied for importing basic commodities in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21, 2020).

Iran imported 25 million tons of basic goods during the previous Iranian calendar year, based on the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

According to the IRICA Head Mehdi Mirashrafi, 35 million tons of commodities were imported into the country in the mentioned year, of which 25 million tons were basic goods.

“This year, the trend [of trade] has slowed down, and we hope that with the measures taken by the central bank, Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry, and IRICA, we will be able to minimize the deposition of goods in the customs before and after clearance”, Mirashrafi said last June.

EF/MA