"Iranian Govt. Lifted Ban on import of Basmati Rice The Iranian government on Tuesday lifted ban on import of Basmati rice. Due to availability of excess rice stocks, Iranian authorities had suspended imports of rice from the rest of the world since October 2014. The rice industry had been badly impacted due to the ban as Iran used to import nearly 1.2 million tonnes of rice from the Indian rice manufacturers. Therefore the lift in ban by Iran is a positive for the rice industry, and will boost rice exports from India in near future."