News in Brief
Belt and Road Initiative leads to Tehran-Beijing economic growth: Minister
China’s Belt and Road Initiative offers many opportunities to develop Iran’s infrastructure, including ports and railways, which can facilitate the development of Iran-China economic growth, said minister of industry, mines and trade
Speaking at the Iran-China business conference, Abbas Aliabadi noted that an agreement between Tehran and Beijing has paved the ground for the quick growth of bilateral ties, IRNA reported.
“In 2022, China’s non-oil imports from Iran were $6.35 billion, most of which were petrochemical, mineral and metal products, medicine, agriculture and fisheries.”
China’s exports to Iran hit $9.44 billion last year, most of which were electronic, electrical and power plant equipment, transportation, various industrial and metal equipment, chemical products, plastic products, and textiles, the minister added.
Aliabadi said Iran has significant experiences in the field of petrochemical and refinery products as well as some technology-based products, which can be attractive to Chinese businessmen.
WB says food inflation shrinks in Iran
The World Bank (WB) in its latest report said food inflation in Iran in the 12-month period to September 22 has dropped to about 37 percent.
In a report on “Inflation of Food in World,” the bank pointed to a decrease in food inflation in Iran to 37.4 percent in the year to September 22, 2023, compared to the same period of last year, Tasnim news agency reported.
Also, the food inflation rate in Iran has relatively halved over the past year, as it was 71.4 percent in October 2022.
The price of food products considerably increased in Iran following the removal of the preferential currency set for importing basic goods (staples) into the country but the country has witnessed a declining trend of food inflation since May 2023.
Among countries in the world, Venezuela, Lebanon and Argentina are record-holders of skyrocketing food inflation, the World Bank added.