Exporters Required to Supply Currency in the NIMA System

On Saturday, October 7, the Supreme Economic Coordination Council of Iran approved new policies for managing the currency market, including the obligation for non-oil exporters to supply their export earnings in the NIMA system. According to the IRNA news agency, based on this resolution, all non-oil exporters are required to present their export earnings in the NIMA system three months after exporting or return it to the 'economic cycle' in a manner determined by the Central Bank. Additionally, exporters who comply with this directive will be eligible for export incentives and facilities approved by the government. Prior to the approval of this resolution, Abdolnaser Hemmati, the head of the Central Bank, reported that out of approximately $23 billion in non-oil exports up to September 23, only about $4 billion had been supplied in the NIMA system. Hemmati did not provide further details about the approximately $19 billion in currency that, according to him, has not entered the economy. Meanwhile, ISNA news agency reported that from July 27 to September 19, only €1.467 billion was supplied in the secondary market, with petrochemical companies accounting for 73% of that amount. Analysts had previously cited the lack of petrochemical currency entering the market as one of the main reasons for the increase in currency prices alongside the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. In July, the government accepted the failure of the single exchange rate policy and created a 'secondary currency market,' which implies a three-tier currency system. In this plan, exporters who previously did not supply their currency in the 'Integrated Currency System' (NIMA) will offer it at an agreed rate to be allocated to non-essential goods not covered by the 4200 toman exchange rate. Critics of the secondary currency market argue that petrochemical, steel, and other 'private state' companies, which are the main suppliers of currency in the secondary market, benefit the most from this market. These critics believe that while these companies benefit from energy subsidies and other exemptions, they supply export earnings at high prices in the secondary market. The Supreme Economic Coordination Council of Iran was formed after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the re-imposition of sanctions. The heads of the three branches of government and several government officials are members of this council. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appointed Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, as the 'Head of the Economic Information and Advertising Headquarters' based on the council's resolution. In this decree, Rouhani asked Rahmani Fazli to 'actively and effectively engage in confronting the psychological and economic war' through policymaking and planning.