Financial Tribune

“Trade Promotion Organization of Iran has not accepted any import orders for cat and dog food, besides 142 other categories of products, since April 28,” Mehdi Niyazi, an official with the organization, told IRIB News. 

“A total of $7 million worth of cat and dog food were imported into Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2018-19) compared with $10 million in the year before.” 

Niyazi noted that with last year’s ban on the import of 1,339 types of commodities, their imports decreased from $3 billion in the year ending March 20 to $800 million last year. 

The government moved to ban the import of what it calls “non-essential goods with domestic counterparts” to better preserve its dwindling foreign currency reserves and support domestically-made products. 

It plans to add more to the list in the current year.

"The number of items in the import ban list will reach 1,530 in the current Iranian year (March 2019-20) to shore up support for domestic production," Deputy Industries Minister Farshad Moqimi was quoted as saying by IRIB News.

“Last year’s restrictions on imports opened up new markets worth more than $5 billion for local products,” he added.

Referring to the order of the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei regarding the need to support domestically-made products, Moqimi said the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade is strongly committed to promote local manufacturing this year by reducing reliance on imports, removing hurdles to domestic production and proposing revisions of restrictive regulations facing manufacturers.