TEHRAN - Iran imported 47 percent less sugar during the first 11 months of the last Iranian calendar year (beginning on March 21, 2023) compared to the year before.

According to statistics, the country imported some 666,000 tons of sugar products worth $434,000,000 last year, showing a 47 percent drop in terms of weight and 36 percent in terms of value compared to the same period of the year before.

Iran needs 2.2 million tons of sugar every year, of which a significant amount is supplied by domestic producers and the rest must be imported.

The amount of sugar imported in the Iranian calendar year 1401 (March 21, 2022, to March 20, 2023) was about 1,262,000 tons worth $683,000,000, and the decrease in sugar imports in the Iranian year 1402 (March 21, 2023, to March 20, 2024) was due to the government’s support for domestic production and an increase in sugar beets and sugarcane cultivation compared to its previous years.

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