BANDAR ANZALI, Gilan Prov. – Some 111,476 tons of non-oil products was exported from this northern Iranian port in the past nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-December 21, 2006).

This showed 45.3% increase compared to the same period last year. The exported volume consisted of glassware, ceramic tiles, dried fruits and foodstuffs. Meanwhile, total stevedoring at the port reached 3.16 million tons, corroborating 23.8% increase in comparison with the corresponding period last year.

The Bandar Anzali Port Department has registered the arrival of 944 ships here in the nine-month period, up 25.3% from last year’s 793.

Steel imports, especially from China, should be halted: industrialist

TEHRAN – An official with Iran Steel Manufacturers Association has called for an urgent shift by the government in its steel importation policy, warning, “It may ruin the domestic steel industry in the blink of an eye.”

The current process of steel imports, especially from China, could create a huge bottleneck for the industry in a few months unless the government takes immediate action to support it, Taqi Bahrami stated, pointing out that the steel industry ranks 2nd after the oil industry in volume of exports.

“The country’s steel mills are operating at only 10 percent of their full capacity,” he said, adding this is mainly caused by shortage of raw materials - due to high import tariffs.

TSE close down 2.1 pts

TEHRAN – The main index (TEPIX) of Tehran Stock Exchange dropped 2.1 points to 10,076.32 on Saturday, ILNA reported.

Some 30.84 million shares were exchanged for Rls.116.29 billion, the report added. The main board index fell 1.29 points to 10,138.04 and the secondary board index was down 4.65 points to 9,120.27. Meanwhile, the industrial index dropped 2.4 points on Saturday.

12th national rice seminar to be held in Babolsar

SARI, Mazandaran Prov. – The 12th national rice seminar will be held this week at Babolsar University in Babolsar, a northern port city on Caspian shores.

Self-sufficiency in rice, herbal medicine and latest findings about the economic and scientific benefits of rice will be discussed during the two-day seminar, starting December 25.

Over 125 experts, researchers and scholars from Mazandaran, Golestan, Gilan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Zanjan, East Azarbaijan, Qazvin, Ilam, Khuzestan, Isfahan, Fars, Lorestan, Charmahal-Bakhtiari and Kohgiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad provinces will be participating in this event.

Fifteen articles will be presented during the conference.

Iran to export $40m of auto parts to Sudan annually

TEHRAN – Upon completion of a Paykan production line in Sudan, Iran’s export of completely knocked down (CKD) parts of its bygone car to that country would reach 40 million dollars.

The manufacturer of the car, Iran Khodro, has agreed to supply parts to Sudan for the next 10-15 years. The training of 200 Sudanese to be employed for Paykan production in the northeastern African state has already ended.