TEHRAN (Iran News) – Deputy Head of Iran Textile Exporters and Manufacturers Association says according to the official statistics, Iran has exported apparel worth $40m in the first seven months of the current year.

Speaking to IRNA, Majid Nami said that some of Iran’s apparel exports are not registered in official statistics because they are done unofficially.  He also pointed to the presence of traders and merchants from neighboring states like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Central Asia who buy Iranian garments and clothing with Iran’s national currency rial and take it legally or illegally into their countries, reiterating that this is also some sort of exports that domestic producers do not benefit it.

Nami added that the statistics for the first seven months were announced while in the past years the average annual apparel exports of the country had been between 50 to 60 million dollars on average.

He also pointed to the exodus of famous foreign clothing brands from the country in the past two years, adding that the government has decided to ban the import of apparel which is a good opportunity for Iranian producers.

He said the private sector should take advantage of this opportunity to reinforce the infrastructures for production, to improve the quality, to boost the quantity of production and scientific work on their products so that when due to some reasons the door for imports opens, they can compete with the foreign brands.

Nami also admitted the coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected the clothing sector and almost 90 percent of producers or those who are active in this business have lost their revenues. He added that however some good steps have been taken for online sales of productions in the online and digital stores which have been welcomed by Iranians.

He reiterated that current the condition for production is good but producers are facing concerns and challenges like providing raw material and machineries.

Experts in the apparel industry predict apparel exports would grow 30 percent by the yearend.

Nami also said that since last week, the operation for collecting foreign apparel brands’ products from stores in the country has begun.

He said that after receiving reports that major shopping centers are selling foreign apparel brands, the Headquarters for Combating the Smuggling of Commodities and Foreign Exchange launched an operation for collecting the foreign brands from the stores.

He also noted that the amount of smuggled clothing into the country was around $2.7 in 2018 and the figure faced a considerable decline in 2019 as the figure stood at $1.8b.

Nami noted that since almost two years ago, the government has slapped over 1400 items of goods whose likes are produced in the country.

He reiterated that only those foreign apparel brands are allowed to be in the country that produces some part of their products in the country and export them.