TEHRAN —
Iran has agreed to accept Ceylon tea
in payment for a
Sri Lankan oil debt valued at $251 million, Iranian media
reported Thursday.
اضافة اعلان
"In recent negotiations, we reached a
written deal to reimburse Iran's debt and interest on it in the form of a
monthly shipment of tea produced in Sri Lanka," the head of Iran's Trade
Promotion Organization said.
Alireza Peyman-Pak was quoted as saying that
"a deal was reached on Tuesday, according to which Sri Lanka will export
tea to Iran every month to settle a $251 million debt for
Iranian oil supplied
to Sri Lanka nine years ago".
In 2016, Ceylon tea made up nearly half of
Iranian consumption, but the proportion has declined in recent years.
The barter deal will allow sanctions-hit
Iran to avoid having to use up scarce hard currency to pay for imports of the
widely consumed staple, Peyman-Pak said.
"Iran and Sri Lanka have great
potential to develop mutual trade," he said, adding that Iran's non-oil
exports to the country are valued at less than $100 million a year.
Sri Lankan Plantation Industries Minister
Ramesh Pathirana said the deal "will not violate any UN or
US sanctions
since tea has been categorized as a food item under humanitarian grounds",
according to the Economy next website.
He added that Iranian banks that have been
blacklisted under US sanctions will not be involved in the transaction.
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