TEHRAN, April 20--A lawmaker admitted Wednesday that the controversial parliamentary decision to keep prices of goods and services unchanged in the year to March 2006 could not help alleviate the country’s economic ailments, stressing that the solution lies with a cut in expenses and a jump in productivity rate.
Adel Azar told ISNA that the fixed price initiative would not produce the desired results given the heavy reliance of the national economy on oil revenues.
“In a country where oil revenues constitute 60 percent of the annual budget, we cannot expect more (from the sluggish economy),“ he said, adding that foreign investments have to be used to create wealth in the country.
Several government officials and experts have repeatedly announced that the parliamentary move is doomed to fail.
Most experts believe that the parliament has rushed into ratifying the fixed price bill under public pressure calling on the conservative lawmakers to fulfill their pledges for greater social welfare.
Tehran Stock Exchange reacted negatively to the parliamentary decision. Indices fell drastically earlier this year following fears the parliamentary move would cause huge losses on state companies listed in the stock market.
Experts contend that the conservative-dominated parliament’s decision would lead to a rise in the inflation as it would compel the government to withdraw more money from Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund.
There are also growing concerns about the adverse impacts of the massive push by parliamentarians for a huge cut in bank rates.

KUWAIT CITY, April 20--Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah said Monday that he would visit Iran for talks on resolving a decades-old dispute over the gas-rich Dorra offshore field, AFP reported.
“We have strong ties with Iran in all fields and thus not resolving the issue of the continental shelf and demarcation of maritime borders is a surprising matter,“ the minister told reporters ahead of his visit.
“Things have become clear now and I believe there is a strong willingness on both sides to put an end to this issue. I am looking forward to meeting with (Iranian Foreign Minister) Kamal Kharrazi to end (the dispute).“
The two Persian Gulf neighbors have been negotiating to demarcate their maritime border for the last several years, but with no concrete results.
“We have reached a very advanced stage in the talks. I hope to reach specific points during the visit,“ said the minister, but warned that border disputes were complex issues which could not be resolved overnight.

Agricultural production in Iran has increased to 22 million tons in the past three years.

TEHRAN, April 20--Iran exported 99,000 tons of watermelon to five countries in the year to March 2005, reported ISNA.
According to Iran’s Customs Administration, some 70 percent of the watermelon exports went for Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. The rest was exported to Kuwait, Bahrain and Turkey.
The value of watermelon exports during the period stood at $16.1 million of which $6.6 million pertained to imports by Iraq.
Watermelon exports to the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Turkey reached 4.8, 2.3, 1.1 and 1.9 million US dollars respectively during the period.
Figures released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization suggest that Iran is the seventh largest producer of fruits in the world.
Agricultural production in Iran has increased to 22 million tons in the past three years. However, experts are critical of the improper supply and high prices.
Some conservative parliamentarians have been trying hard in the past weeks to blame the government for the crisis.
However Tehran Municipality officials point the finger of blame to the procedure of stockpiling fruits, stressing that some 20 percent of the products is wasted each year.
The country continues to export fruits at a time when the domestic supply is facing serious challenges and prices are at all-time highs despite pledges by the conservative MPs to prevent a price hike in the year to March 2006.

TEHRAN, April 20--Malaysian ambassador to Tehran said here on Wednesday that Putrajaya is determined to implement bilateral trade agreements in the best possible manner, stressing the need to boost two-way cooperation in all key economic sectors.
Datu Munshe Afzaluddin welcomed the establishment of the joint chamber of commerce, saying the First Exhibition of Malaysian Goods and Tourist Attractions, which will open in the historical city of Isfahan, in central Iran, next month, would be the first serious step towards promoting bilateral trade cooperation.
He said Malaysia exported $305.9 million in 2004, when it imported $258.5 million worth of goods from the Islamic Republic.
The envoy said the Isfahan exhibition does not aim to attract Iranian tourists, adding that the fair will try to encourage export of goods from Iran to Malaysia.
He further noted that Malaysian private sector companies have reached several agreements with Qeshm Free Trade Zone authorities.
“Iranian officials are working to boost foreign investments in Qeshm,“ he said, adding that Putrajaya is planning to become involved in Qeshm investment projects.
He said the initial investment in Qeshm would amount to $300 million, stressing that the funds, provided by a private firm, would be invested in a tourism project.
Afzaluddin confirmed that the joint chamber of commerce would start its work in the near future.

TEHRAN, April 20--Tehran Stock Exchange chief said here on Wednesday that the TSE plans to develop its electronic systems, stressing that foreigners would be able to make deals on the stock market by March 2006.
Hossein Abdeh-Tabrizi told a gathering of major shareholders at the TSE that the stock exchange has prohibited the publication of classified information.
He said brokerage firms have to communicate with the stock market authorities through the official website.
He further noted that as per the fourth development plan (2005-2006), foreigners will be allowed to purchase up to 10 percent stakes of a company on the stock market.
The TSE chief said the bourse needs to increase the value of daily transactions to $550 million in the next five years, adding that the same figure currently stands at $1.5 billion and $600 million for stock exchanges in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, respectively.
He said two more provincial stock market halls would be inaugurated in the coming months in the western province of Hamedan as well as on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf.
He added that the value of stock market transactions has reached $100 billion a year, expressing hope that the figure would double once the constitutional ban on large-scale privatizations is lifted.
Experts have predicted a boost in transactions in the year to March 2006.
Abdeh-Tabrizi said earlier that financial interests of certain investors demand the manipulation of market prices, stressing that the TSE would not permit long-term national interests to be put at stake by the short-term interests of some investors.
He pledged to prevent what he called was ’manipulations in prices’, saying the TSE is working to reduce investment risks in the capital market.

SEMNAN, April 20--Managing director of Iran Material Company’s sodium sulfate production unit said here Tuesday that over 9,900 tons of sodium sulfate was exported by the company in the year which ended on March 20.
Abbas Zandi told IRNA that the export was valued at over $1.1 million, which is 100 percent higher than the figure for the previous year.
Sodium sulfate was shipped to Persian Gulf littoral states, and Central Asian states, he added.
The material is used in making detergent and is produced in two factories with an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons.

The country has good potentials in the production of agricultural machinery.

ARDEBIL, April 20--Visiting Venezuelan minister of nutrition met Ardebil Governor General Javad Negarandeh here on Tuesday to discuss ways of implementing the accords reached between the two countries during President Mohammad Khatami’s recent visit to Caracas.
According to IRNA, Rafael Jose Oropeza told reporters that Iran has good potentials in the production of agricultural machinery and its expertise on nutritional affairs is of high quality. He added that he held discussions with officials of Ardebil ’Sout Machine’ Company on the export of its product to his country.
For his part, Negarandeh said that the province which has suitable agricultural base is ready to share its experience in related fields with Venezuela.
The Venezuelan minister said that Iran’s progress in the industrial sector, particularly its food industry is ’impressive’. This, he pointed out, is mainly due to the increased cooperation between the government and private sectors in research and production. “Utilizing the experiences of Iran is beneficial for other developing countries as well,“ he added.
The visiting official said that Caracas and Tehran have signed several agreements in the food sector. Some of Iran Food Research and Production Company’s output is exported.

GOTEBORG, Sweden, April 20--Volvo Buses has received an order for 500 bus chassis from Runiran, the company’s importer in Iran.
According to PrimeZone website, all the chassis will be delivered in 2005.
Iran is one of Volvo Buses’ biggest single markets. Some 3,400 Volvo buses have been sold in the country over the past ten years via the importer Runiran.
The latest order is for 500, B7R MkII intercity bus chassis. The chassis will be delivered in CKD kits from Volvo Buses’ factory in Boras. They will then be assembled at Runiran’s own factory in Saveh, 170 km southeast of the capital Tehran.
The bodies will be manufactured at the same factory based on Runiran’s own design. However, the design is built on a Volvo concept and Runiran and Volvo will work closely with one another.
“Runiran has bought body components from Volvo Buses in the past,“ says Bjorn Ringius, Volvo Buses’ Marketing Manager for Iran. “We are negotiating to sell body components for this order as well.“
The Volvo buses that Runiran builds are of top quality for the country and are mainly used as intercity buses.

TEHRAN, April 20--Iran’s Ambassador to Brazil Jafar Hashemi conferred on Tuesday with the Speaker of the Brazilian House of Representative Severino Cavalcanti on expansion of mutual cooperation, IRNA reported.
At the meeting, Hashemi described the current level of trade between the two countries as ’satisfactory’.
According to the Information and Press Bureau of the Foreign Ministry, the Iranian ambassador pointed to the long standing ties between the two countries which date back to a century and underlined the need to expand all-out cooperation. Iran seeks expansion of parliamentary cooperation between the two countries he said while inviting the Brazilian parliament speaker to pay an official visit to Iran.
The Brazilian parliament speaker, for his part, welcomed expansion of ties between the two countries and said Brazil owes its economic development to non-traditional markets and is quite aware of the importance of expanding ties with Tehran.
Lauding the issue of ’Dialogue among Civilizations’, he said solidarity, amity and peace is an undeniable part of ties between nations and all should endeavor to help safeguard peace and stamp out violence throughout the world.

Transit of non-oil goods reached 3.8 million tons, which was up by 5.2 percent.

TEHRAN, April 20--A total of 9.3 million tons of goods worth $10.8 billion was transited via Iran in the year to March 2005, showing an increase of 19.2 and 23.2 percent in terms of volume and value, respectively, against figures for the corresponding period the previous year.
According to ISNA, transit of non-oil goods reached 3.8 million tons, which was up by 5.2 percent.
Fuels, vehicles and foodstuff were the top three transited goods.
Some 26 percent of goods transited via Iran in the period originated from Kazakhstan, 17.6 percent from Turkmenistan and 17.5 percent from Russia.
Top transit destinations were the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Turkey with 61.6, 8.5, 6.8 percent, respectively.
Some 57.3 percent of goods was transited via Shahid Rajaei Customs while Sarakhs, Bazargan, Amirabad and Lotfabad customs offices handled the rest.