Panasonic Stops Cooperating With Iran

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Head of Home Appliance Sellers and Producers Union says Japanese company Panasonic by writing a letter to the union has announced that the company will send no parts to Iran any longer.

Morteza Miri in an interview with ILNA said that Panasonic has announced that it has stopped cooperating with Iran and it will send no parts for Iranian home appliance makers, adding that currently National Company of Isfahan is manufacturing its products with Chinese parts.

He went on to say that after the U.S. stopped waivers to South Korea, the Asian country cut all its economic relations with Iran and even they froze banking accounts of natural or legal Iranians and because of Iran’s embassy’s efforts, some banking accounts of Iranian students were exempted from freezing.

Miri admitted that South Korea was truly frightened by the U.S. sanctions and it decided to withdraw two of its famous home appliance brands of Samsung and LG from Iran’s market while both companies had 60 percent of Iran’s market.

He also pointed to some billboards in the cities which promoted Daewoo home appliance, saying that currently there is no trace of South Korean goods in the country.

Miri reiterated that officials have collected billboards which promoted Daewoo products, adding that currently no South Korean Company gives raw materials to Iran and even Japanese Company of Panasonic has joined the South Koreans.

Meanwhile secretary of Iran-South Korea Joint Chamber of Commerce Poya Firouzi in an interview with ILNA said that currently there is no trade interaction between Iran and South Korea and this year, only limited number of parts for home appliance has been imported from South Korea.

He noted that the future of trade ties between both countries is fully in hands of South Korea. Miri said that in the past, different South Korean companies in different fields from home appliance to oil equipment had representatives in Iran but today no South Korean Company exists in Iran and all of their representatives have been closed. He admitted that actually two home appliance brands of South Korea were the only statistics for bilateral trade which has been zeroed now.

Firouzi further said for this reason, all billboards of South Korean brands have been collected and other products are promoted.

On the future of home appliance in the country, he said if two Iranian brands GPlus and Sam continue their production with full strength and to take the control of the market like before, there will be no shortage in the country.

He added that those two brands produce their products with good quality Chinese parts which will replaced their South Korean counterparts.