The Ministry of Agricultural Jihad does not respond to the judicial inquiry regarding the valuation of dates

A member of the Economic Security Police Council criticized the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad's failure to respond to the judicial authority's inquiries, referring to the council's follow-up on the customs value of export goods, including dates.

According to Mehr reporter, today, Saturday 25th of Mehr 1405, a press conference of the National Date Association of Iran was held on the occasion of National Date Day at the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture of Iran.

Colonel Khazaei, a member of the Economic Security Police Council, in this meeting, which was held in the presence of date activists and officials, pointed to the council's follow-up on the customs value of export goods, including dates, and criticized the Ministry of Jihad Agriculture's failure to respond to the inquiries of judicial authorities and regulatory bodies.

Referring to the investigations carried out in the past months, he said: "Following the receipt of reports and news about the unreasonable low customs value of key export goods such as dates, we carefully examined the issue." During meetings with the president of the National Date Association of Iran and other officials, a written report was submitted to the Tehran prosecutor and the secretary of the resistance economy working group of the Tehran province judiciary, that special elites are pursuing these economic issues.

He added: Based on the decisions taken, we requested the Ministry of Jihad Agriculture, as the country's main custodian of production and agriculture, to announce its expert and written opinion on the valuation status of date exports in order to determine whether the current prices are economically justified for the exporter and producer. Unfortunately, despite the importance of strategic export products such as saffron, pistachios and dates, the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad did not pay special attention to this issue and has not responded to correspondence and judicial authority so far.

The representative of the Economic Security Police further emphasized: Despite the absence of the Ministry's representative in this meeting, the Economic Security Police is following the legitimate concerns of date producers and exporters. If date pricing is not cost-effective for producers, packaging units and exporters, the production cycle and economy of this area will face serious challenges, and we are working with all our strength to remove the obstacles and correct the basic export prices.

Strong support of economic security police for legal export

Colonel Khazaei, continuing his speech in the specialized meeting of dates field, criticized the raw sale and bulk export of this product to Pakistan and Persian Gulf countries and its repackaging with Arab brands, and emphasized the all-round support of the Economic Security Police for the development of conversion industries, modern sorting lines and the construction of specialized cold stores.

Referring to the problem of rented and one-time business cards, the representative of the Economic Security Police said: Exporters who have exported with their personal business cards and transparently, are honored at the highest level and are not recognized as accused anywhere. Our treatment is only for people who have used non-single-use cards. The economic security police are standing shoulder to shoulder with the real exporters in the committees for removing foreign exchange obligations.

He considered the modification of the basic export prices of dates and related products as one of the other demands of the activists in this area and added: The Economic Security Police believes that the customs valuation should be completely fair and the methods of clearing the foreign exchange obligations of horticultural and agricultural products should be revised.

In the end, Colonel Khazaei emphasized that he is ready to remove the administrative obstacles and fight against corruption: the global registration of dates geographical indication, compliance with health and plant protocols and guaranteeing financial security in commercial transfers are among the priorities that we will follow up with the cooperation of date association and chamber of commerce. We promise to the economic activists, wherever destructive bureaucracy or corruption in the customs and standards hinders your work, we will deal decisively so that dates find their rightful place as the flagship of the oil-free economy.