AHVAZ, Khuzestan Prov. -- An official with Khuzestan’s agriculture department pointed to foreign investment as the only way to promote ostrich farming industry across this southern Iranian province.

“Ostrich farming is a long-term project. Besides, we have no processing industries here, so very few local investors dare put their money into this industry and most of them prefer to focus on exports,” he said, pointing to Khuzestan’s vast uncultivable lands and forage resources as unique advantages for becoming an ostrich farming center.

However, he noted, the animal is highly sensitive to tropical climate, so it would not tolerate Khuzestan’s hot summers.

Iranian engineers equip Afghan Customs with ASYCUDA system

TEHRAN -- A group of Iranian engineers have helped equip customs offices of two Afghan cities with the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).

The project started last month in the cities of Herat and Islamqala and was the second phase of a move that had initially included modernizing customs offices in the Afghan capital Kabul and two other cities. The Iranian experts have also trained Afghan customs staff on how to work with the new system.

ASYCUDA is a software available for several operating systems (such as DOS and Unix) in a client/server environment. Data is stored in a relational database. The system can handle all international standards and codes established by ISO, World Customs Organization and the United Nations. The system is developed in Geneva by UNCTAD.

Iran’s unique ecotourism potential far from being known to world

TEHRAN -- Very few countries have this enormous ecotourism potential that Iran can offer to the foreign tourists, an ecotourism expert said Tuesday, regretting that almost nothing has been done by the government to introduce the country’s ecotourism attractions to the world.

“People who come to visit Iran can take very short rides out of every small town or big city and see some of the most diverse sights they have ever seen,” Afsaneh Ehsani stated, pointing out that tourists can find some places in Iran that have the combination of attractions – including mountainous regions, rare wildlife, deserts, forests, lakes and ancient sites. However, she said, most of foreign tourists know very little about Iran’s history and tourist attractions, adding, “They think they are visiting an Arab country like the UAE or Egypt when they decide to tour Iran’s deserts.”

Meanwhile, she added, some taxi drivers and shopkeepers trick foreigners out of their money and discourage many others from even thinking of making a trip to Iran.

SA envoy discusses trade in Khorasan Razavi Prov.

MASHHAD, Khorasan Razavi Prov. -- The South African Ambassador to Tehran Yousuf Salouji met with the general governor of Khorasan Razavi Province here on Tuesday to discuss ways of expanding bilateral trade ties.

Salouji pointed to the hard time the South Africans had under apartheid, adding that some residents of the country still have such racist attitudes and that the South African economy is still in the hands of whites. Turning to his country’s interest in cooperation with Iranians, he said, “We welcome Iranian investors who seek joint ventures in South Africa’s industrial and mining projects.”

TSE trade down 28.8% on Tuesday

TEHRAN -- The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) experienced a 28.8% slump in the volume of trade on Tuesday, recording the exchange of 47.9 million shares for Rls.268.23 billon.

The main index (TEPIX) rose 166.99 points to 9,996.4 and the main board index was up 194.6 points to 10,034. However, the secondary board index and the financial intermediation index slumped 162 and 268.2 points to 9,130.3 and 17,371.62, respectively.

The industrial index was up 113.7 points to 8,044 at the end of Tuesday’s trade.