The ongoing seasonal ban on rice imports will be in effect until Nov. 21, Deputy Agriculture Minister Yazdan Seif said, noting that the ban started as of August. Every year and during the rice harvest season, the government bans rice imports in support of local farmers and domestic production. Traders who have already made order registrations can import their cargos after the deadline. During the ban period, no imports will take place. The ban pertains to grain order registrations during the abovementioned period, meaning orders placed before the ban may be entitled to customs clearance past the deadline. Iranians consume 3 million tons of rice a year while domestic production stands at 2.2 million tons. Therefore, there is need for around 800,000 tons of imports every year. The Agriculture Ministry expects domestic rice production to increase by 10-15% in the current Iranian year (started March 21), because of favorable weather condition and timely distribution of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery and equipment among local farmers.