Iranian-made goods to replace chunk of imports: Minister
Iran plans to manufacture $11 billion worth of domestic products in the next couple of years to replace some imports.
The country aims to produce electrical, automobile and telecommunications commodities, and double exports to neighboring countries in order to reach a target value of $48 billion, Reza Rahmani, the minister of industry, mine and trade, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Iran started to ban some 1,400 non-essential goods and commodities within weeks of a decline in the value of rial, the national currency, against the dollar last year, after the United States abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions against the Iranian economy.
The policy is designed to support local manufacturers and shore up foreign exchange supplies.
Iran exported 80 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $24.5 billion in the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-October 22), registering a 17-percent rise in terms of weight.
According to Deputy Industry Minister Hossein Modares Khiabani, in terms of value the figure fell 11 percent compared to last year.
The official noted that the government had allocated 870 billion rials (about $20.7 million) worth of incentives for the country’s exporters in the current Iranian year (ends on March 19, 2020), adding that such incentives could boost national non-oil exports.
Increasing non-oil exports to neighboring countries is among major plans that the Iranian government is pursuing in the current Iranian calendar year.