USDEC has been informed by our office in the Middle East that, effective immediately, Iran has closed its borders to all U.S. dairy products.

The Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade banned the import, distribution and issuance of any license for U.S. consumer goods, including food items. The directive includes ALL U.S. consumer products, including any items that were not previously prohibited before this new directive was instilled. Therefore, all food items, including dairy products going to the retail, manufacturing, and/or food service sector are now not permitted to enter Iran.

According to the news, only some essential items and drugs will be allowed to be imported into Iran; the relevant list of these will be announced in the future. USDEC’s Middle East office is checking on the impact of this directive on goods that were in transit at the time this directive was issued.

USDEC will continue to monitor this developing situation and update the membership as more information becomes available.  Please contact Sandra Benson (sbenson@usdec.org) or Matt McKnight (mmcknight@usdec.org) at 703-528-3049 with any questions.