The head of the Colombo Tea Traders Association announced that Iran has stopped granting licenses and currency to its importers, but this interruption is temporary and will last for about a month.

According to Tasnim news agency, citing Business Times, Iran has stopped buying tea from Sri Lanka. Iranian authorities have stopped granting licenses for the import of various goods, including tea.

The head of the Colombo Tea Traders Association announced that Iran has stopped granting licenses and currency to its importers. The tea industry in Colombo believes that this interruption is temporary and will last for about a month.

Iran is one of the biggest buyers of Ceylon tea. The country bought 15,127 tons of this tea in 2020 and 22,263 tons in 2019. The export of Sri Lankan tea to Iran reached 73.99 million dollars last year.

According to some sources, the suspension of tea imports from Sri Lanka is likely to last until mid-April due to ongoing investigations in Iran regarding money that was not provided to tea importers.

On the other hand, Sri Lankan importers are worried about the depreciation of the rupee and are afraid that the effect of the weak values will be greater than the temporary restriction of Iranian imports.