Iran to Double Its Exports to Afghanistan
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – Acting Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Hossein Modarres Khiabani says Iran is to boost its exports to its neighboring states and the exports to Afghanistan will be doubled soon.
Speaking at the Majlis open session, Modarres Khiabani said that last year, the volume of exports reached $41b and this year despite closure of borders due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the exports have become normal after the reopening of the borders.
He expressed hope that by end of the year, Iran can exports $41b of goods, adding that the ministry still focusses on bolstering exports to the neighboring states as well as exports to India and China. He noted that the country is to export 60 percent of its total exports to 15 neighboring states because during the sanctions era, saving the border trade exchanges is more important.
Modarres Khiabani added that exports to Afghanistan will be doubled as the trade with Afghanistan declined in the first quarter of the year due to the border closure.
He reiterated that the country plans to export 41 billion dollars’ worth of non-oil goods and it may happen by the end of the Iranian year on March 20, 2021.
Despite the sanctions and coronavirus pandemic, Iran will experience growth in its non-oil exports, he said at formal session of the Parliament this morning.
Since its outbreak in December 2019, coronavirus pandemic has created obstacles to world trade and exchanges. In many countries, social distancing rules and health protocols are being followed as preventive measures to deal with the deadly virus which has killed over 516,000 in different parts of the world.
About closure of borders after the outbreak of the coronavirus, the official said that 80 percent of the border crossings have opened and trade exchange are normal now.
Meanwhile, the official said that coronavirus pandemic has affected over 33 percent of global trade.
Iranian reliance on non-oil exports is a policy in line with order of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on importance of strengthening trade exchange with China and India, the ministry caretaker noted.
To follow “Surge in Production” as it was stressed by the Leader on the first day of Iranian year, March 21, the Ministry of Trade is to launch industrial units and make use of the capacities of the knowledge-based companies, Modarres Khiabani said.
Talking about restrictions created for Iran after the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country in late February, the official said Iran was importer of equipment needed for fighting the virus on the early days, but now the country is exporter of such equipment.
He also stressed, “One of the ministry’s tasks in the last quarter was to supply raw materials for factories and the manufacturing sector, which was resumed after a month-long hiatus due to currency restrictions.”
“53 billion mineral reserves have been discovered in the country so far. 11,000 mines are licensed and up to 500 million tons of minerals have been extracted, which were in the fields of metal and non-metal mines building and decorative stones,” he added.
He went on saying, “The ministry has a significant share in the country’s economy, about 40 to 45 percent of GDP, more than 33 percent of employment and 75 percent of non-oil exports belong to this ministry.”
“In the area of imports, essential goods and raw materials of factories and manufacturing enterprises were decided to be the only items that should be imported”, according to Modarres Khiabani.
“We had non-oil exports to neighboring countries, and exported to Afghanistan more than twice as much as for the same period last year,” the MP reiterated.
On the car production in the country, he said the car production has grown by 8 percent and the growth is expected to reach 40 percent by the year end.
Modarres Khiabani noted that the ministry has the production of 1.2m cars on its agenda as it expects the growth in production of washing machine to reach 115 percent and the TV production will see 52 percent growth.
