‘$42b annual non-oil export target achievable’
TEHRAN - Head of Iran Export Confederation Mohammad Lahouti says achieving the $42 billion non-oil export target which the country has set for the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021) is possible considering the recent improvements in exports.
“Considering the growth of [non-oil] exports in late 1398 [previous Iranian calendar year ended on March 19] which continued in the current year, the exports are expected to grow significantly in the second half of the year, and hopefully we will achieve the foreseen target,” Lahouti told ILNA.
“Of course, we missed the first quarter of this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and the closure of borders; however, since over 80 percent of the border crossings have been reopened, the exports growth will be much higher in [the Iranian calendar month of] Khordad (May 21-June 20),” he added.
He further noted that it could also be possible for the exports to increase in the second half of the year to even exceed the $42 billion target.
“If there is enough cooperation between exporters and executive bodies, we can hope for more exports,” Lahouti said.
Mentioning the preferential trade deal with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the official said Eurasia will be a great export opportunity this year and we have also the largest markets in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“China and India are also among our target markets; we are trying to increase our exports to China and hopefully our exports to India will return to normal levels as well.”
According to Lahouti, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade is targeting 15 neighboring countries for non-oil exports in the current year, and the diversity of the target markets has not changed much.
Iran to launch joint chamber office in Syria
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Export Confederation head said Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has purchased a building in Syria and the office of Iran-Syria joint chamber of commerce in the Arab country will be opened soon.
“Naturally, by launching the Iranian Chamber of Commerce office in Syria, we can expand exports and investment in this country,” he said.
“When the Syrian market opens and conditions return to normal, we will have various plans for this country as well.”
The official noted that Syria is looking for joint investment, and Iran's goal is to increase non-oil export to the country.
“Syria is also a good market for joint ventures, but infrastructure must be provided and protocols must be followed,” Lahouti emphasized.
EF/MA
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/448910/42b-annual-non-oil-export-target-achievable
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Petchem industry’s development goals to be fully realized by Mar. 2022
TEHRAN – Managing director of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) says all the goals set, based on the country’s Sixth Five-year National Development Plan, for the petrochemical sector will be realized by the end of the Iranian calendar year 1400 (March 20, 2022).
Speaking in a press conference on Monday, Behzad Mohammadi said with the completion of 27 remaining projects of the petrochemical sector’s second leap, by the end of 1400 the country’s petrochemical production capacity will increase to 100 million tons (mt) from the current 66 mt.
“That is the goal set in the sixth national development plan,” Mohammadi said.
According to the official, the petrochemical industry’s incomes will also increase by $10 billion from the current $15 billion.
The deputy oil minister called the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020-March 20, 2021) a golden year for the petrochemical industry, saying: "By the end of this year, 16 petrochemical projects will be put into operation.”
Petchem industry, Iran’s top source of non-oil revenue
Elsewhere in his remarks, Mohammadi pointed to the significant role of the petrochemical industry in the national economy and specified: "This industry is the top provider of foreign currency for the country."
He further emphasized that the development plan for the country’s petrochemical industry should be changed in accordance with global developments.
"It is necessary to move from a one-feed one-product plan toward a one-feed several-products strategy to create sustainable development in this industry," the official said.
“We must protect ourselves against the turbulences in the global market, so the most important solution for the country's petrochemical industry is smart development, which is also on the agenda of the National Petrochemical Company.”
Exports upward trend to continue
The NPC managing director elsewhere mentioned the stable exports by the country’s petrochemical complexes despite all the problems and limitations and said: “Fortunately, exports of petrochemical products are underway smoothly despite all the problems.”
Emphasizing on the sustainable production in the industry, the official said: "There were only fluctuations at the beginning of the current year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which were gradually stabilized; so that in [the Iranian calendar month of] Ordibehesht (April 20-May 20), the trade of petrochemical products in the country’s mercantile exchange increased by 11 percent compared to the last year.”
Mohammadi said that last year, the petrochemical industry received 35 million tons of feedstock equivalent to 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the oil industry, adding that the figure is going to increase to 1.5 million barrels when the new projects are operational.
According to the official, 23 million tons of petrochemical products worth $10 billion were exported in the previous year and 8 million tons worth $5 billion were consumed inside the country.
The total revenue of the country's petrochemical industry in the previous [Iranian calendar] year was $15 billion, of which about 85 percent was returned to the country’s domestic Forex Management Integrated System (locally known as NIMA).
EF/MA
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/448925/Petchem-industry-s-development-goals-to-be-fully-realized-by