Speaking in the unveiling ceremony of 51 items of garden and agro products, Hojjati said that some believe they know economics in the highest level and say it is better to import agro products rather than producing them domestically because it would be cheaper but you can find nowhere in the world to follow such a decision.

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

He pointed to the experience of Europe and the U.S. in supplying food, adding that all countries first try to be independent and to cut their foodstuff reliance on other countries while they are not under sanctions and they have also no problem in money transfer and they have ties with other countries, and producing foodstuff domestically is their priority.

Hojjati also pointed to Japan’s experience regarding this issue, adding that Japan, despite of lacking enough land for agriculture and being the fourth economy in the world, relies on domestic production and if sometimes it is forced to import rice it hands it over to the refugee commissioner.

He also pointed to the supports of governments from different agriculture sector, noting that they spend billions of dollars in the agro sector to support domestic products in order to minimize their dependence on other countries.

Hojjati noted that today providing food is more than a simple food security issue and hegemonic countries use it as a political tool for dictating their supremacy over other states.

He went on to say that attention to the agriculture has increased in the country, adding that there are several reasons for tendency towards agro sector in the country because food security has become an important global issue and limitations for producing food have also increased and the demand for food is on the rise day by day.

He admitted that there are some restrictions in the country for agriculture and it is because of climate restriction and water shortages comparing to other countries.

He also criticized some decision-makers and technocrats in the country for their strange reasons, adding that their reasons for supporting imports are not logical and they make those remarks because the price of dollar has been kept low in recent years but they should know that the real forex rate is the sweat on the forehead of a producer.

Hojjati noted that due to devaluation of the national currency, the condition for exports of Iranian agro products has improved and it has been profitable for farmers while some try to restrict exports. He urged those people to consider the tax tariffs rather than restricting exports because of fluctuation in the forex market.

He reiterated that despite some claims, the country still suffers from sanctions on food and medicines and what Americans say is not true.