Azernews.Az

The Iranian parliament's recent decision to cut oil exports in response to international sanctions will lead to a rise in oil and food prices and harms public welfare around the world, Mehr news agency quoted Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Shamseddin Hosseini as saying on Wednesday.

On November 6, 18 members of the Iranian parliament (Majlis) drafted a plan calling for oil exports to be cut by one third in response to the western sanctions.

On October 15, the EU voted to expand sanctions already in place against Iran, targeting banking institutions, energy companies and shipping. It said in a statement that the measures were aimed at the regime and "not aimed at the Iranian people."

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has recently reported that economic performance in Iran has shown a small contraction because of a Western ban on oil exports.

"The projection that we have shows small contraction in Iran economy during 2012 ... and an increase in inflationary pressure in the same period," the IMF's head of Middle East and Central Asia, Masood Ahmed, told AFP in Dubai.

IMF figures released last month forecast an economic contraction in Iran of 0.9 percent this year, and mild growth of 0.8 percent in 2013. The figures compare to 2.0-percent growth in 2011 and 5.9 percent in 2010.

According to IMF projections, Iran's oil exports have dropped to 1.25 million barrels per day this year, compared with 2.14 million bpd last year.

Ahmed pointed out that the drop took place even though "other parts of the economy have done well, such as agriculture."

Agriculture contributes 10 percent of the Islamic republic's GDP, while industry, including oil, accounts for about 40 percent.