$41b of annual non-oil exports atop agenda: industry min.

Iran’s Acting Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Hossein Modares Khiabani said the ministry has it on the agenda to export $41 billion worth of non-oil commodities in the current Iranian calendar year (March 2020-March 2021).

According to the official, neighboring countries are the main target for the mentioned exports, IRNA reported.

Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to a production unit in Alborz Province, Khiabani said currently over 80 percent of the country’s borders with the neighbors are open and operating and the trade is back to normal.

Referring to the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the country’s trade in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-May 20) the official noted: "There was a deep gap between exports in the first two months of this year which was reduced in the third month, and we are compensating for the backlog caused by the coronavirus."

He further mentioned some of the issues that the country’s production sector is facing in the current year and said: “Due to currency constraints, factories are facing hardship for supplying their raw materials, and the Industry Ministry is trying to obtain [the required foreign currency] from other sources like exports of raw material.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khiabani noted that the government has paved the way for all productive units to export their products so that they would be able to supply their own machinery and raw materials.

"We have special programs for supplying raw materials, exporting and manufacturing of domestic products in the automotive, steel, food, home appliances and machinery industries,” he said.

Despite the restrictions and problems in the past few months, many of the country's industrial sectors have witnessed a boost in production, for example, in the automotive sector, production has grown by 27 percent and home appliances production has seen a 50 to 150 percent rise, he said.

source: TehranTimes

non-oil exports Trade Minister Hossein Modares Khiabani said