Iran slashed its rice import tariff to 4 percent in April, down from 150 percent, allowing private importers to buy rice freely for the first time in a decade.

Iran, one of Thailand’s major rice buyers, is likely to start buying Thai rice in June when prices are expected to drop, a senior Thai trade official said on Thursday.
“Iranian officials told me that they would start buying Thai rice in June, when the country’s second crop has been completely harvested and prices should ease, Thai Minister Counselor (Commercial) to Tehran Wanchai Varavithya told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Iran imports around 1 million tons of rice each year, of which around 600,000 tons usually come from Thailand, but the country has yet to buy any Thai rice this year because of high prices, he said.
“There is constant rice demand in Iran. It should buy Thai rice not less than what it used to buy, but it is waiting for an appropriate time and price,“ he said.
Thai rice prices have surged to a historic high this year, with benchmark 100 percent B grade white rice jumping above $1,000 a ton in April, from the $383 a ton quoted in January.
Prices of the benchmark grade fell to $920 a ton on Thursday. Traders expect easing prices to lure buyers back to the market and resume buying.
Asian rice prices have almost trebled this year and prices on the Chicago Board of Trade have risen more than 80 percent to hit successive record highs as export curbs by leading suppliers such as India and Vietnam fanned fears about food supplies. The restrictions come at a time when global rice stocks have halved since hitting a record high in 2001.
In May, prices eased due to waning demand as the sky-high levels forced buyers to hold back their orders just as supply in Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, was increasing.
And Thai rice is expected to slip further in June when the country’s second smaller crop is harvested, he said.
Thailand is forecast to produce 4.2 million tons from the second smaller crop. It is also expected to produce an extra 1 million tons rice from a rare third crop, grown mostly in well-irrigated areas in the central part of the country.
Iran slashed its rice import tariff to 4 percent in April, down from 150 percent, allowing private importers to buy rice freely for the first time in a decade, Varavithya said.
“Iran always buys rice through the government channels only. Now, it is clear that Iran is opening another channel to buy rice which reflects strong demand,“ he said.
But Varavithya said the government importing channel still existed as Iranian officials were due to visit Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, to buy rice later this year, even though no dates had yet been scheduled.
The price of some local rice varieties in Iran has more than doubled over the past two weeks. Rice is the food staple for Iran’s 70 million people.

Iran and India have revised their air services agreement that would allow both countries to fly more aircraft.
The agreement would also allow Iran to operate more flight services to Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin and Amritsar, an official statement said today, Fars News Agency wrote.
According to the new agreement, signed by aviation officials from the two countries, the designated airlines of the countries will be entitled to operate a total of 23 passenger or combination services per week in each direction, with each aircraft not exceeding the capacity of B-747.
While India has agreed to offer Iranian airlines Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin and Amritsar as points of call, Iran has offered Tehran and Bandar Abbas as destinations for Indian carriers.
Under the agreement, the designated airlines of India would be able to exercise intermediate Fifth Freedom Rights to Iran via any two points of their choice.

Pakistan’s Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said that his country would begin talks with Iran this month to import 1,000 MW of electricity.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad after attending an energy conservation walk on Monday, he said that Iranian energy minister would visit Pakistan on May 13 to discuss the technicalities and other aspects of power import by Pakistan.
According to Fars News Agency, he said that the issue was also discussed during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to Pakistan, and that the two sides agreed to wrap up negotiations as soon as possible to enable the rapid implementation of the project.
We are also planning to buy electricity from Central Asian states through Afghanistan to overcome the increasing gap between demand and supply.“
He said several other proposals are also under consideration to improve the country’s power situation.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Shipping Lines (IRISL) plans to initiate a weekly shipping line to Venezuelan and Cuban ports, the IRISL Europe Department Manager, Saeed Meqdadi said Thursday.
“This line was initiated in accordance with the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran for supporting and expanding non-oil exports and in response to the numerous requests made by merchants,“ he told MNA.
The first shipment in this line will be from Bandar Abbas Port to Venezuela and Cuba on May 16.
Seven containers will be shipped from Iran’s Bandar Abbas via Malta (Malta), Barcelona (Spain), to Havana (Cuba) and Puerto Cabello (Venezuela).
Meanwhile, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has a joint venture with the Iranian national shipping carrier IRISL where SCI owns 49 percent and IRISL owns 51 percent.

Tehran’s Islamic City Council has approved a single-urgency plan based on which Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company (TUSRC) will receive money from the Oil Stabilization Fund to construct lines three, six and seven of the metro, ISNA reported.
Managing director of TUSRC, Mohsen Hashemi said that a sum of about three billion dollars was to be made available in the finance mode for the construction of the said lines, but the company failed to receive the facility due to liquidity shortage.
Currently, the construction of the three lines is underway using funds allocated by the municipality and the government, he explained. All subway projects have been approved by the city council, he said, adding the government has also endorsed them.
The official disclosed that the company has sent its application to the Interior Ministry. On approval, it will be sent to the Oil Stabilization Fund’s Board of Trustees and then to Central Bank of Iran, he pointed out.

Monthly payments of pensioners will be increased by 20 percent and 10 million rials will be paid in the form of Justice Shares to each individual seeking social services.

Retirement bonus will be equal for all retirees of state entities, announced Minister of Welfare and Social Security Abdolreza Mesri, the Persian daily ’Iran’ wrote.
He said that based on the government’s decision, state employees retired after 2000 will receive one month’s salary for each year of service as a bonus. “Those who retired in 1999 and 1998 were paid 15 and 10 days wages for each year of service,“ he noted, adding the balance will be calculated and reimbursed. He said that the retirees will receive a portion of the bonus in the form of Justice Shares.
Six million people received Justice Shares in the first phase.
The Justice Share scheme is aimed at giving a share of the oil wealth to the people, starting with the vulnerable strata of the society.
Mesri said that the government pays special attention to retirees, adding 50 percent of their arrears have been settled in the year to March 2008.
The minister stated that banks will grant about 100 million rials as interest-free loans to the physically handicapped by next March.
He noted that monthly payments of pensioners will be increased by 20 percent, adding 10 million rials will be paid in the form of Justice Shares to each individual seeking social services.
Mesri said that effective steps have been taken by his ministry in recent years for resolving the problems faced by the retirees.
Mesri said that paying special attention to the psychological problems of the retired employees is of high importance, adding establishing Khaneh-e Mehr (Home of Affection), providing complementary insurance coverage, sending a number of retirees on minor pilgrimage (Umrah) are among the steps taken by the ministry.
He noted that presently retirees of the armed forces and state-run offices have equal rights, saying that bringing all groups under the umbrella of insurance is among the main objectives of the Welfare Ministry.
Mesri said submitting a bill on waiving the fines of employers penalized under the Social Security Law is among the most crucial steps taken by his ministry. “This is in the interest of both employers and Social Security Organization of Iran,“ he noted.
The parliament ratified the bill in the year to March 2009.
He said his ministry has provided complementary insurance to the physically handicapped for the first time in the country.
He said that a comprehensive databank of Iranians will become operational soon, adding that the complete data will serve as the basis for providing insurance to all people.
Mesri stated that Welfare Ministry is committed to safeguard the rights of the insured.

Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Seifollah Jashnsaz said given the growing trend of global demand for oil, Iran’s oil production is expected to increase to 88 million bpd this year, IRNA wrote.
Jashnsaz, who is also deputy oil minister, made the remark in the inaugural ceremony of the National Congress on Iran’s Drilling Industry in Ahvaz, adding that the constant increase of oil prices in the international market as a result of an increase in global demand will push prices further up.
He argued that the current oil prices are not real, adding that they are far from the real value of such a strategic energy.
Experts say oil and gas will play a key role in providing global energy and economy for many years, he said, noting that investment in the drilling industry can guarantee expansion of production and stabilize oil supply.
Pointing to the role and importance of the drilling industry in supplying upstream industries, he said the key for developing oilfields and the main link in production of energy is the drilling industry.

Bahrain’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar Al-Baharna on Wednesday called for expansion of trade cooperation between Tehran and Manama.
According to IRNA, Al-Baharna made the remark in a meeting with Rasoul Mousavi, director general of the Institute for Political and International Studies affiliated to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Bahraini minister pointed to the desire of both countries to increase trade exchanges to $7 billion, saying that expansion of trade ties would benefit both Iranian and Bahraini nations.
Calling for immediate efforts to lift obstacles in this respect, he noted that the door is open for negotiations in different economic, cultural, scientific and art sectors, and that Manama welcomes exchange of delegations in this regard.
Mousavi likewise called for development of cooperation in the fields of research between the scientific institutes of both nations.
Turning to a visit by Iranian trade delegation to Bahrain, he noted that talks between the elite of both countries on economic, scientific and cultural fields can pave the ground for development of relations between the two friendly and brotherly states.