The inflationary effects of state supports would come down to nil, once the anti-inflationary plan is approved and implemented.

TEHRAN, Nov. 25--Commerce minister here Saturday announced that a new plan to check inflation is currently undergoing studies at the Strategic Council for Economic Development.
Masoud Mir Kazemi told the Persian daily 'Iran' that the plan presents some ways of bringing growing inflation rate down to a single-digit figure, adding that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad approved the plan and insisted that it should be implemented before March 2007.
He said that the plan envisages reform in the methods by which the government supports the salaried class of the society plus the industries and agriculture sector.
He recalled that any increase in subsidies allocated for different sectors, was followed by price hikes, stressing that this vicious circle should be stopped.
He said that the state support should be rectified, so that they do not fuel inflation.
The minister noted that the government can support sectors through methods other than subsidies, adding that the government could, for example, liberalize the prices of fertilizers and pesticides instead of allocating some 10 trillion rials annually in subsidies to purchasing them.
He further said that the figure could be paid to the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad for further investment in projects to produce fertilizers and pesticides.
"Occasionally the government increases the prices of some factors which themselves influence the cost price of commodities and services as part of efforts to back different sectors," he noted, adding that some sectors have to pay for these malfunctioning policies of the government.
He stressed that the inflationary effects of state supports would come down to nil, once the said anti-inflationary plan is approved and implemented.

Installing solar cells on the rural houses' roofs would help provide warm water in the first phase and then it could provide light.

TEHRAN, Nov. 25--Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said here on Saturday that the ministry is planning to indigenize solar power technology, stressing that due to the country's vastness and the existence of 65,000 villages, it would not be economy-wise to install electricity posts in some areas.
The minister told Moj news agency that some 51,000 villages currently have access to electricity, adding that the remaining rural areas have not received power supply services due to low population.
He said that Iran has supplied power to almost all rural areas with a population of above 20 people, stressing that new energy sources have to be used to supply the needs of areas where electricity is still not available.
Fattah said that installing solar cells on the rural houses' roofs would help provide warm water in the first phase and then it could provide light.
"We could do it with pre-fabricated packages installed on roofs," he said, adding that technological advancements of today have made it possible to provide such systems at lower costs.
Iran announced in July that it has taken another major step towards the use of renewable energies as the cabinet agreed to provide state guarantees for foreign investment in the construction of a giant solar power station in the central city of Yazd.
The 100.5-million-euro project would make use of mid- and long-term loans from international financial institutions, which will be channeled through the banking system.
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance will guarantee the repayment of the loan. The funds will be used to purchase the required equipment, raw materials as well as turbine parts.
On June 17, the High Council of Economy also approved the project to construct a geothermal power plant in the northwestern city of Meshkin-Shahr, East Azarbaijan.
Experts say some 500 megawatts of power a year needs to be generated from renewable energy sources by the closing year of the Fourth Five-Year Plan (2005-2010).

Saffron exports increased by 15.7 percent in value during March-August against the figure for the corresponding period last year.

TEHRAN, Nov. 25--A senior official said here on Saturday that Spain has managed to find a foothold in the world saffron market given its advanced packaging systems, stressing that packaging has not yet been taken seriously in Iran.
According to ILNA, Ali Shariati-Moqaddam, chairman of the board of directors of Iran Saffron Export Promotion Fund, further said that the saffron industry prefers to export the super-expensive spice as national brands and in packages, calling on the government to support packaging units.
"Until 15 years ago, low prices (in Iran) encouraged packaging industries in Western countries to develop saffron packaging and exports," he said, adding that packaging is among the vital factors influencing the choice of customers.
"Inattention to packaging industry would lead to Iran losing its international markets one by one," he said, adding that packaging could help create greater value-added for producers.
Shariati-Moqaddam said earlier that saffron export has been marred by underground deals and increasing smuggling of the labor-intensive spice.
He said no serious step has been taken to boost saffron exports, stressing that some opportunists imitate famous Persian saffron brands and smuggle low-quality saffron to other countries.
"A recent study shows that 57 saffron brands available on the market are fake and only six original brands sell on the domestic market," he said, adding that spurious brands account for a major portion of saffron exports.
Saffron exports increased by 15.7 percent in value during March-August against the figure for the corresponding period last year.
Some $33.2 million worth of the delicacy, weighing 63.4 tons, was exported in the period. However, saffron exports grew by a mere 1.1 percent in weight during the period.
Saffron was exported mainly to Spain and United Arab Emirates (UAE) in bulks over the five-month period.

TEHRAN, Nov. 25--Majlis Research Center said Saturday that huge bureaucratic procedures pose the main obstacle to withdrawing funds from the Foreign Exchange Reserve Account, stressing that 40 percent of the companies, which had applied for funds, challenged in a recent opinion poll the banking system's poor performance in this respect.
The center also announced that during 2000-2005, some $43.4 billion of surplus oil revenues was deposited in the account and $26.7 billion was withdrawn for state sector and $6.08 billion for private sector facilities.
According to IRIB News, the center said some 52 percent of those who took part in the poll said the account's financial facilities had a 'very good' impact on their businesses.
However, it said, applicants complained about extensive bureaucratic procedures involved in the process of obtaining loans from the account.
"After the administrative red-tape, the gravest challenge would be the banks' failure to implement the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) directives," it said.
Loan applicants also called on relevant authorities to try to speed up the payment processes, extend insurance services covering fluctuations in foreign exchange parity rates.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Nov. 25--First vice president on Friday stressed that Iran seeks maximum cooperation with Islamic states and called for enhancing ties with Egypt, Fars reported.
Parviz Davoudi made the call on the sidelines of the regional meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in which the Egyptian delegation was headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.
He underlined that Islamic states could solve regional issues themselves through dialogue and consensus without the intervention of the foreign countries.
Describing Iran and Egypt as two key countries in the Middle East which enjoy age-old cultural and historical backgrounds, he expressed Iran's readiness to participate in infrastructure sectors of the north African state, including construction and road building.
Iran is ready to create conditions for attracting investments by Egyptian companies in its tourism, energy and mining sectors, he added.
Nazif, for his part, expressed Cairo's readiness to further promote bilateral ties with Tehran in different arenas. Egypt is seeking to forge exemplary ties with Iran, he said, adding that his country is laying the required groundwork for tapping the potentials of the two states to serve their common interests.
He termed mutual economic relations as a fertile ground for enhancing cooperation in different fields, urging officials of the two countries to play a more active role in resolving the problems of the Middle East region.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Geneva-based foundation whose annual meeting of top business leaders, national political leaders (presidents, prime ministers and others), and selected intellectuals and journalists is usually held in Davos, Switzerland.
There are also regional meetings throughout the year. It was founded in 1971 by Klaus M. Schwab, a business professor in Switzerland.

VIENNA, Austria,
Nov. 25--Iran has dispatched economic teams to major European countries at a time when it has been under political pressures, said the head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines here on Saturday.
Alinaqi Khamoushi, in Vienna at the head of a trade and industrial delegation, told IRNA that Iran wants to prove that its economy would not be affected by the poisonous political atmosphere.
He said that Iranian trade teams are trying to communicate the recent developments that have taken place in the national economy, including the latest reading of Article 44 of the Constitution, which allows large-scale privatizations, to the European party.
The official said Iranian private sector and its foreign partners could invest in at least 50 percent of projects in Iran.
He said that Austrian trade authorities have welcomed Iran's economic openness and shown willingness to continue their economic interactions with the country.
"The poisonous political atmosphere was not having a major impact (on the talks with the Austrian party) but they advised us to not allow the atmosphere to become more poisonous," he said.
He said investors who register their companies in Iran would be able to purchase lands and make use of all other facilities just like Iranian companies.
The official said foreign investors could also get their principal capital and interest guaranteed by the Iranian government if they bring in technologies and machinery with themselves.

DETROIT, USA,
Nov. 25--The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday disclosed it asked Ford Motor Co. to detail its business ties to Syria, Iran and Sudan, three countries the US government considers 'terrorist-sponsoring states', Reuters reported.
In a chain of correspondence, released on Friday, but dating back to July, the SEC asked Ford to demonstrate that its 'reputation and share value' were not at risk because of its business in those countries.
In mid-August, Ford said it sells vehicles through dealerships in Syria, while its Land Rover subsidiary sells its sports utility vehicles through a British distributor in Sudan.
Mazda Motors Corp., in which Ford has a 33 percent stake, sells its products through Japanese trading companies in Iran and Syria, Ford said.
"Our limited and lawful business activity in Syria is public information, and we have not been able to identify any resulting negative impact on our reputation or share value," Ford said in a letter to the SEC dated Aug. 16, 2006.
The SEC responded to Ford a week later, saying it had no further comment on the company's annual financial report.
A Ford spokeswoman and a SEC spokesman declined further comment on Friday.
The unusual exchange between the No.2 US automaker and the SEC follows letters written by the regulatory body to European and US oil companies, asking them to inform investors about the risks they face from investing in countries the US identifies as those supporting terrorism.
Ford said in the letter to the SEC that sales of Mazda vehicles by the distributors to outlets in Iran and Syria combined resulted in sales revenue of less than $60 million in 2004 and 2005, and $85 million in 2003.
"We do not believe that this de minimis business activity by Mazda impacts Ford's reputation or share value, or the value of Ford's ownership interest in Mazda," it said in the letter.

TEHRAN, Nov. 25--A member of the Majlis Energy Commission here Saturday suggested reducing gas injection into oil wells in winter and increasing it in spring in addition to substituting furnace oil as the best ways to avert over-excessive consumption of fuel in the cold season.
Hossein Afarideh told ISNA that gas exports to Armenia could not be blocked due to the high fuel consumption in the wintertime, arguing that given the abundant gas resources of Iran and its access to gas markets, there would be no problem in exporting the commodity to the former Soviet state.
Referring to the possibility of decreasing the amount of fuel consumed by households and industries, he said that the Oil Ministry has pledged to provide the country with liquid fuel in times of gas shortage and thus there is no need to worry about exports of gas to Armenia.
Earlier, the Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh noted that Iran is to begin exporting gas to Armenia in 2007 on schedule and other issues, including Russia's insistence on having a bigger share in Armenia gas, could never affect exports.