Iran's central bank governor said the economic growth rate stood at five per cent in the current Iranian year, state radio reported yesterday. The figure falls short of the minimum six per cent target rate set in Iran's third five-year economic development plan for the period of March 2000- March 2005.

Bank chief Mohsen Nourbakhsh said Iran's exports in the first six months of the current year (March 20 - September 19) stood at $12.9 billion, while imports totalled $7.2 billion.

He said total income from sale of crude oil and refined products stood at $15.675 billion in the first eight months of the year and forecast total income at $21.5 billion for the whole year if crude prices remained firm.

Some $10 billion of excess income from higher crude prices has been set in a special fund, 50 per cent of which would be allocated to Iran's private sector in hard currency to enhance production and exports, Nourbakhsh said.

He said the Iranian rial's exchange rate would be in the range of 7,900 to the dollar in the budget bill which President Mohammed Khatami is due to take to parliament for debate today.