Sri Lanka’s $ 251 million Iranian oil settlement with tea

According to Fars News Agency’s International Economics Group, Sri Lanka announced that it intends to settle $ 251 million in oil imports from Iran by sending tea to that country.

Sri Lankan Agriculture Minister Ramesh Patirana told Reuters he planned to send tea to Iran in January.

“We hope to send $ 5 million a month in tea to repay overdue oil purchases from Iran over the past four years,” the Sri Lankan official said.

Sri Lanka is due to repay about $ 4.5 billion in debt next year, starting with $ 500 million in international government bonds due in January, but according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the country’s foreign exchange reserves are ending. November Decreased to $ 1.6 billion.

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that the barter with Iran “does not violate any UN or US sanctions, as tea is classified as a humanitarian commodity and at the same time none of the blacklisted Iranian banks in the list “There are no deals.”

The statement added: “This proposed arrangement will save the foreign currencies needed for Sri Lanka, because the settlement with Iran will be in Sri Lankan rupees and through Sale “Ceylon tea is made.”

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