Mahdi Chamran Reports Cherry Prices at 100,000 Tomans per Kilogram in Tehran

Mahdi Chamran, the head of Tehran's City Council, has deemed the measures taken to combat the 'smuggling' of foreign fruits into Iran as 'insufficient' and reported that cherries are being sold at a price of 100,000 tomans per kilogram in some areas of the city. According to a report on Tuesday, March 4, by Nasim Online news agency, Mr. Chamran made this statement during the 240th council meeting. He criticized the abundant sale of expensive foreign fruits in the main fruit market of Tehran and raised the question of whether purchasing these expensive fruits is 'halal or haram?' Chamran considers the sale of these fruits at exorbitant prices as 'illegal' and has called on the responsible authorities to follow up on this issue. The discussion of fruit imports has become a topic of debate among city and government officials in Iran since Ali Khamenei labeled such imports as 'shameful.' On February 8, Khamenei stated, 'In such a great country, one feels ashamed that foreign fruits are imported. Direct resources towards production, not imports.' Following these remarks, Ali Akbar Pour Ahmadnejad, the secretary of the Tehran Anti-Smuggling Goods Headquarters, announced the initiation of a plan to intensify the crackdown on smuggled fruits in major fruit and vegetable markets. Mr. Pour Ahmadnejad mentioned that a working group composed of agents from the Tehran Anti-Smuggling Goods Headquarters, led by the Tehran Industry, Mining, and Trade Organization, has been formed in this regard. According to him, in the intensified crackdown on fruit smuggling, 1,400 kilograms of dried garlic, 34 tons of Pakistani mandarins, 300 boxes of French green apples, 690 kilograms of acorns, and quantities of Chilean grapes have been discovered and seized. This official also announced that 17 'offenders' have been referred to judicial authorities. Despite the implementation of this plan, fruit smuggling continues in Iran, and according to Mahmoud Hojjati, the Minister of Agricultural Jihad, 'the existing disorder at the country's borders' is the main factor contributing to the persistence of this phenomenon. Mahdi Chamran has also deemed the efforts of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade's enforcement organization and the police to address the entry of smuggled and foreign fruits as 'insufficient' and has called for more actions in this regard. On February 16 of this year, Mahmoud Novabi, the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, announced that smuggled fruits are being hidden in imported containers and brought into the country. Turkey, Pakistan, Chile, Egypt, and China are mentioned as the five countries supplying smuggled fruits to Iran.