Positive balance of $3b posted in last year’s agriculture: Minister
Iran’s Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri announced on Saturday that the negative balance of the country’s agricultural sector had turned positive by 3 billion dollars, citing a 31% increase in exports and a 5% decrease in imports last year.
Nouri also said the agricultural trade balance in the Iranian calendar year 1403 improved from 11% to 8% compared to 1402, meaning it saw a growth of 3 billion dollars, which is significant and a big step towards a positive trade balance in the agricultural sector.
“Under sanctions and a shortage of capital formation, the agricultural sector in 1403 saw a 31% increase in exports and a 5% decrease in imports compared to the previous year,” he added.
While commemorating the martyrs and pointing to Iran's recent victory against the Israeli regime in the 12-day war, he praised the efforts made to preserve the country's food security in wartime conditions.
Referring to the empathy and cooperation of the people with the Armed Forces and the government at the tough time, he stated, “Our colleagues in the Ministry of Agriculture, through constructive and efficient inter-agency and inter-branch cooperation, were able to fulfill their duty regarding food security.”
Emphasizing that despite the enemy's planning to jeopardize the security and peace of the people in terms of food, Nouri said with the measures taken, there has been no shortage in the supply of essential goods across the country.
“Even with demand exceeding needs in some provinces due to population displacement, more than one-third of the dispatched goods remained unused,” he noted.
Thanking producers, suppliers, and guilds, especially cattle breeders and poultry farmers, the agriculture minister stated that the recent war further highlighted the importance of food security.
“Despite the scarcity of water resources and soil erosion, we are able to produce the country's needs domestically and become self-sufficient, relying on scientific knowledge and the research of scholars and scientists,” Nouri underlined.
On June 13, Israel launched a blatant and unprovoked aggression against Iran, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.
More than a week later, the United States also jumped on the bandwagon and bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In response, Iranian armed forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.
On June 24, the regime declared a unilateral ceasefire without any preconditions, a sign of its defeat in the face of powerful and unwavering Iranian retaliation.