TEHRAN, (MNA) – Iran has imported a record amount of gold in the past three months as part of a mechanism that allows businesses to import gold to settle their export-related dues to the government, according to a senior official.
Alireza Paymanpak, who led Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization until earlier this month, said on Saturday that Iran’s gold-for-exports receipts had totaled only 80 kilograms in the three years before March.
Paymanpak said imports of gold by exporters to settle their foreign exchange debts to the government is one of the best solutions to get round the US sanctions that put restrictions on Iran’s access to the international banking system.
“More than one ton of standard gold bullions have been imported into the country with the help of the central bank (CBI) as part of (a commitment) by small exporters to return foreign exchange,” he said in a tweet in Farsi.
The CBI requires businesses and manufacturers to supply their export proceeds into an exchange system where other businesses can buy a hard currency that they need for imports.
However, some exporters opt for the gold-for-exports mechanism as they face difficulties in repatriation of export proceeds because of US sanctions on Iran.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly downplayed the impact of US sanctions on Iran’s trade relations with the rest of the world.
Figures by the Iranian customs office show the country exported a record of $53 billion worth of goods and products to other countries in the calendar year to late March.
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