Warning about shortage of powdered milk in Iran; powdered milk is being smuggled to Afghanistan and Iraq

The head of the Association of Milk Powder and Baby Food Producers has warned about the worsening shortage of milk powder in the country and reported the smuggling of this product to Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to ILNA, Hani Havilzadeh, on Sunday, July 17, also referred to the fact that 85 percent of the raw materials for powdered milk are imported and said that there is only enough raw materials in the country for two more months.

He announced that no foreign exchange was allocated for the import of these materials and said that so far only 50 percent of the foreign exchange requirement for the import of raw materials for infant formula has been met.

According to this baby food activist, in addition to customs regulations that lead to the delay of raw materials for infant formula at customs, the low list price of this product has made it an affordable product for smuggling to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Rahim Banamolai, former head of the Association of Milk Powder and Baby Food Producers, had said earlier this June that "strictness by the Central Bank" and "customs" had led to the growth of illegal milk powder exports, and that 40 to 50 percent of exports to neighboring countries were smuggled and unofficial.

In recent months, some pharmaceutical activists have also warned of a shortage of many medicines in the country due to "reductions in government foreign exchange allocations" and criticized drug smuggling to neighboring countries.

Ali Fatemi, Vice President of the Iranian Pharmacists Association, referred to the phenomenon of "reverse smuggling" of medicines in the country on June 11 of this year, saying that the government pays heavy subsidies and imports medicines, but due to the low price, the same medicine is exported from the country and sold at many times the price.

Source: Radio Farda