The resumption of rice imports by Iran could give a fillip to India’s basmati shipments that have risen by about a fourth in rupee terms in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (started March 21, 2017). Iran is the largest buyer of India’s basmati and accounts for a fourth of India’s annual aromatic rice shipments of around four million tons. The country restarted rice import registration this year from Jan. 21 till June 21. The permission was communicated by Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati in a letter to Minister of Industries. The order registrations will be valid for a three-month period and are extendable by a further one month. Hojjati noted that any rice shipments as per the new orders need to be cleared through Iranian customs by July 22, after which all imports will be banned. Every year and during the rice harvest season (July-January), the Iranian government bans rice imports in support of local farmers and domestic production.