TEHRAN - In the latest meeting of the dialogue council of the government and the Tehran Province’s private sector, the challenges of the Union of Iranian Agricultural Machinery Producers and Exporters were discussed.

According to the head of the union, since the end of the previous Iranian calendar year (March 20), the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has not provided any foreign currency for the imports of agricultural components and machinery, the TCCIMA portal reported.

Speaking at the meeting, Hossein Salehi said about 98 percent of agricultural machines and tools in Iran are domestically produced and two percent are imported.

“In the case of tractors, up to 45 percent are domestically manufactured, of which about 30,000 units are provided by Tabriz Tractor Manufacturing Company, and the rest are manufactured by other private sector companies,” he added.

According to the official, 55 percent of the components and parts used for manufacturing tractors are supplied through imports, so the main challenge for this sector is the foreign currency allocation.

“Since last year, the central bank has not given any priority to the currency allocated to agricultural machinery and components, and on the other hand, the registration process for getting the necessary currency is too long,” he said.

Salehi further underlined the negative consequences of the current situation for production and workers active in the industry, saying that the lack of capital has caused many production units to halt their production.

EF/MA