TEHRAN: “Iran is giving priority to increase the exports and should consider non-oil exports a major task,” Chairman of the Trade Development Organization of Iran Valiollah Afkhami-Rad said here the other day.
The official, speaking at an Export Day Conference, further remarked that passing through the difficult conditions facing the government is not an easy task and problems cannot be solved quickly.
“Using human experience plays an important role in the progress of objectives which we have sometimes not used and paid a heavy price.”
He stressed that the sanctions cannot bring the country to its knees but can lower the speed of action and create heavy costs, adding that such costs have been sustained in the past.
Quoting the manager of an Iranian bank outside the country he said the price paid by the Iranian business and the people in the recent years for commercial activities amounts to $100 billion.
Afkhami-Rad noted that despite all the problems and banking sanctions export of non-oil commodities in the past eight months amounted to $31.5 billion which shows an increase of 20%.
He said target markets of the Iranian commodities are China with $6 billion, Iraq with 4 billion, the UAE with $2.5 billion, Afghanistan with $1.6 billion and India with $1.4 billion.
The official further noted that among the top 10 countries which are targets for the Iranian commodities there is also one European country, namely Italy.
He said major exports are to the Asian continent with 92.6%, an also 5% to Europe and 2% to Africa, adding that exports to the U.S. and the Pacific is meager.
Pointing to imports in the past eight months he said $34.225 billion were imported but the gap between imports and exports is low which is considered a strong point in trade.
He concluded by saying that for the promotion of exports direct airlines should be established for the target countries, the railway should be connected to the neighboring countries and marine transportation should become operational.
