Rural women are facing numerous problems in selling their handicraft and livestock products on local markets.

TEHRAN, April 24--Economic development of rural areas would remain a dream as long as rural women suffer from social backwardness, said a senior advisor to the minister of agriculture jihad here on Sunday.
Farzaneh Mafi told ISNA that the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad is planning to boost the role of women in rural economies, stressing that women empowerment schemes are underway in many areas across the country.
She further noted that rural women are faced with numerous challenges on the social and economic fronts preventing them to easily access consumer markets.
Mafi, who is also the head of the Agriculture Jihad Ministry's Department for Rural Women's Affairs, further noted that rural women in six regions have been linked under a nationwide program to promote contacts among rural people.
The official further noted that there are programs for training tribeswomen, stressing, however, that there are still certain obstacles in the way of holding technical and vocational training courses for them. She said rural women are facing numerous problems in selling their handicraft and livestock products on local markets, adding that the ministry is planning to create small workshops in rural areas to help women produce handicrafts and sell them easily.

Shell is progressing as per schedule to complete the 190,000-barrel per day capacity project at Soroush and Norouz oilfields.

TEHRAN, April 24--Development project for Soroush and Norouz oilfields, in southern Iran, will finally be completed within the next four weeks after months of repeated delays and marketing problems.
Mehdi Atrianfar, the project manager, told ISNA that the Norouz field will certainly begin full production by the end of May.
He said Soroush oilfield is currently producing 50,000 barrels per day of oil, adding that production in the field would reach 100,000 by the end of this month.
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told ISNA last week that the oil giant Shell is progressing as per schedule in its efforts to complete the 190,000-barrel per day capacity project at Soroush and Norouz oilfields.
Development project for Soroush and Norouz oilfields, which were expected to become operational late 2003, have been delayed for several times in the past months. The British and Dutch conglomerate, Royal/Dutch Shell had announced earlier that development projects in Soroush and Norouz fields faced major problems because of the damage to equipment and a change in oil processing ship.
The projects to develop Soroush and Norouz oilfields came to a standstill due to the 1980-1988 war with Iraq.
Soroush oilfield, which is located some 82 kilometers southwest of Kharq Island, was discovered in 1962.
Norouz oilfield, discovered in 1966, lies 93 kilometers northwest of Kharg Island and 53 kilometers from Soroush oilfield.

TEHRAN, April 24--A court in Tehran has found the giant heavy vehicle manufacturer Iran Khodro Diesel guilty of smuggling luxurious cars into the country, reported ISNA on Sunday.
It added that the high-profile smuggling case involved illegal import of 40 Mercedes-Benz cars from United Arab Emirates to Iran under cover of re-exports.
The police and Iran Customs Department managed to uncover the major smuggling case, filing a lawsuit against the company, which is a subsidiary of Iran's largest carmaker, Iran Khodro.
Iran Khodro must now pay more than five million US dollars in penalty. The cars will also be confiscated by the government.
The Central Headquarters for Fighting Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange last week rejected reports that senior government officials were involved in major smuggling cases, including the famous Mercedes-Benz smuggling case, but said some low-ranking officials have been found guilty of collaborating with smuggling groups in border areas and customs offices.
It confirmed that investigations into some major smuggling cases have led to judicial rulings.
Secretary of Central Headquarters for Fighting Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange Brigadier General Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said earlier that complex bureaucracy and chaotic administrative system are responsible for growing poverty and injustice in Iran, stressing that the smuggling dilemma is deeply rooted in economic woes. He said the underground economy accounts for a remarkable portion of economic activities in the country.
It remains to be seen how the giant carmaker Iran Khodro would react to the court conviction of its subsidiary.

With the deterioration in the economic situation of tea farmers, some 220,000 tons of processed tea is rotting in warehouses.

TEHRAN, April 24--A tea industry official said here on Sunday that production of tea leaves is expected to decline by 60,000 tons in the year to March 2006, stressing that domestic tea output would also fall by 30,000 tons in the same period.
Iraj Hosami, who heads North Tea Farmers Association, told Mehr news agency that some 80 percent of last year's tea crop has been stockpiled,
adding that only a few tea farmers have started harvesting in the current agriculture season.
He said the tea production is expected to decline to 25,000 tons by next March.
He criticized the agriculture officials for their failure to remove the challenges facing the once lucrative industry, saying the national tea industry is now going through its worst ever days.
Hosami said earlier the ban on tea imports has prevented blending of Iranian and foreign tea and has led to a growth in the consumption of foreign brands following a rise in smuggling of the product into the country.
He said the mafia has caused further financial problems for farmers in recent years.
With the deterioration in the economic situation of tea farmers, some 220,000 tons of processed tea is rotting in warehouses.
Calls for an end to the 50-year state monopoly of the tea industry have fallen on deaf ears. The government has failed to keep its pledges to purchase tea from farmers at reasonable prices.
The government had last June given the go-ahead to limited tea imports via joint border malls.
Tea industry officials have accused the government of direct involvement in the import and distribution of foreign-made tea. They said state officials have caused heavy damage to the national tea industry by importing excessive amounts of tea in recent years.
Iran's tea consumption is estimated at 120,000 tons per annum, of which the national tea industry can supply a maximum 50,000 tons and the rest are imported.
The Headquarters for Fighting Smuggling of Goods has reportedly given priority to fighting tea smuggling given the nationwide distribution of huge quantities of smuggled tea in recent years.

VIENNA, April 24--Governor General of the western province of Kurdestan Asadollah Razani here Saturday met the Austrian Deputy Economy Minister Josef Majer, according to IRNA.
Razani, who is heading a provincial delegation, is in Austria at the invitation of the country's private sector.
At the meeting, Majer referred to the growing volume of trade between Tehran and Vienna in the past two years and stressed the need to expand investment and trade ties between the private sectors of the two countries.
He proposed cooperation in vehicle and parts manufacturing as well as the gas pipeline project from Iran to Europe via Austria.
Razani briefed the Austrian official on the potentials of Kurdestan province which has ample mineral reserves, including gold.
He added that because of Kurdestan's proximity to Iraq, goods valued at over $300 million were exported to that country last year via this western province.
Austria exports over 300 million euros to Iran and imports about 60 million euros of non-oil goods from Iran.
A major part of Austrian exports to Iran comprises of electronic equipment and industrial machinery.
In 2004, Tehran and Vienna signed agreements on eliminating double taxation and protecting foreign investments.

SHANGHAI, China, April 24--A leading Iranian auto manufacturer is to produce cars in China soon, it was announced on Sunday.
In an agreement signed between the two countries on the sidelines of the ongoing 11th International Auto Show in China, Iran Khodro industrial group is to manufacture a brand of car called Samand in China under joint investment.
Commenting on the project, Managing Director of Iran's Investment Corporation Nasser Marzban told IRNA that Iran Khodro is going to supply 30 percent of the financial resources while the Chinese side will provide the rest of the capital.
He said the initial amount of the joint investment for production of Samand stood at $60 million.
According to the official, 20,000 Samand cars will be produced in China annually in the first year with the number growing to 120,000 in three years.
A company affiliated to Iran Khodro will design and install the machinery needed by the Chinese side, he said, adding that 50 percent of car's parts are to be manufactured in China in one year's time.
Marzban noted the Samand production line will be officially launched in China in one year.

TEHRAN, April 24--Iran denied Sunday it has held talks with the collapsed British carmaker MG Rover's administrators on a possible takeover by Iranian firms, stressing that the Ministry of Industries and Mines is opposed to any such initiative.
Qader Soleimani, the ministry's director general for international relations, told ISNA that the ministry had studied the matter before and come to the conclusion that the takeover could not be feasible.
"Even when Minister of Industries and Mines Es'haq Jahangiri visited the UK recently, he turned down an invitation from MG Rover to tour the company," he said, adding that the ministry has never asked an Iranian automaker to hold talks with the British firm.
He, however, did not rule out the possibility of Iran buying parts of the company, including the manpower and technological know-how.
Iran's largest carmaker Iran Khodro has also rejected speculations it is planning to purchase the collapsed firm's rights.
The UK-based The Independent said in an editorial on Sunday that 'in a sign of how desperate the MG Rover situation has become, administrators are looking to Iran to rescue the stricken car-maker'.
It said the Iranian embassy in London confirmed that officials in Iran are planning to hold talks on buying MG Rover's rights and remaining assets. The two Iranian companies are believed to be Iran Khodro and SAIPA.
The MG Rover collapse has taken center stage in the run-up to the general election on May 5. Observers say the death knell on the last great British car firm could not have come at a worse time, especially with a handful of Labor margins in the Birmingham constituencies where the Rover’s Longbridge plant is located.

NEW DELHI, India, April 24--A top Indian diplomat, Bhavani Sengupta says the Iran-India gas pipeline is of supreme importance to New Delhi.
Speaking to IRNA, Sengupta said the pursuit of the gas pipeline project is a good example of non-aligned policy in the 21st century.
He believed the definition of non-alignment has undergone considerable change in recent years and today it signifies independence of Third World countries to pursue their decided course of development without any interference from hegemonic powers in the West.
Asked about the future of the NAM while the Bandung Conference of 1955 is being celebrated in Jakarta in the 21st century, Sengupta said, "While the celebration is timely and needful, each member of NAM should have independence in formulating foreign policies concerning its future."
He said the India-Pakistan peace process has not come to a vacuum. "The current peace process is a product of complicated geopolitical calculations."

TEHRAN, April 24--Iran exports about three million tons of unprocessed minerals annually, announced Iran Mining House.
The value of minerals exports is very low compared to processed products, it said adding that although the weight of the exports was lower by 0.2 percent last year (ended March 20) against the figure for a year earlier, it increased in value by 40 percent to stand at $186 million in the period.
The increase in value was primarily due to higher prices said the report adding the average value for each ton of exports rose to $47 two years ago and to $66 last year.
It added that the sector faces obstacles including diminishing investments as well as lack of enthusiasm from private entrepreneurs in committing capital to the sector.
Iran's proven mineral reserves have been estimated at 27 billion tons and there are 3,800 mines throughout the country, Iran Mining House said.
The industry produces 56 types of minerals. About 150 million tons of minerals are extracted annually, accounting for 0.55 percent of the total proven reserves.
It suggested that the country could extract minerals for at least another 180 years.
Iran is one of the richest countries in terms of mineral reserves. It has over 3,000 mines in operation employing some 70,000 people.
More than 142 million tons of minerals were extracted during March 2003-2004, when the country earned some $900 million from mineral exports.
Private companies conduct 90 percent of the explorations in the mining sector. This is while the state sector exploits the mines and earns the value-added.
Iran's total mineral deposits are estimated at 53 billion tons.