Bolstering the production and export of knowledge-based products is high on the agenda for the current Iranian year (started March 20), Industries Minister Reza Rahmani said.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Rahmani said the efforts are in line with the motto of the year.
Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has named the new Iranian year after "Boosting Production" to help shore up Iran's sanctions-hit economy without relying on other countries.
Rahmani said analysis conducted on the country's exports last year revealed that the share of high-tech products in non-oil export shows an upward trajectory.
As a result, a greater focus will be given to the production and export of tech-based items. During 2019-20, despite the restrictive effects of US sanctions against Iran, the value of non-oil export exceeded 169 million tons, showing a 14% rise compared to a year before," he added.
The minister noted that the figures highlight the importance of supporting industrial and technology infrastructure for boosting foreign commercial relations and revenues.
Pointing to the current critical conditions due to the rapidly spreading COVID-19, Rahmani said that with the implementation of social distancing by the government to flatten the coronavirus infection curve in the country, numerous local businesses have been adversely affected.
Amid market stagnation caused by COVID-19, many knowledge-based companies have been extremely active producing protective medical items needed for battling the virus
Amid market stagnation caused by COVID-19, many knowledge-based companies have been extremely active producing protective medical items needed for battling the virus.
“The producers of N95 and surgery face masks, disinfectants, drugs, rubbing alcohol, coronavirus test kits and antibacterial fabrics are currently working at full capacity. In case the pandemic is curbed in the country, the producers can go beyond the domestic market and boost exports,” he said.
“The Industries Ministry will cooperate with the Health Ministry to materialize the goal.”
First reported in China’s Wuhan Province in December 2019, the coronavirus has so far infected 2,184,566 people around the world, claiming the lives of 146,897. The number of recovered cases has reached 553,039, Reuters reported on Friday.
Iran reported the virus outbreak in mid-February, which has so far taken the lives of 4,869 people out of a total of 77,995 infected people.
According to Iran’s Health Ministry, 52,229 patients have so far recovered from the disease.
Export Value
Iranian knowledge-based companies and tech firms earned 1.2 quadrillion rials ($7.5 billion) from the export of technological products in the last Iranian year (ended March 19), Esmaeil Qaderifar, an official at the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, said.
Qaderifar added that tech units have been mainly working in the fields of medicine, stem cells, regenerative medicine, laser and photonic science.
“They use cutting-edge technologies, some of which are locally developed versions of previously imported items. This has curbed capital flight,” he said.
The official noted that tech firms’ income has been on an upward trajectory over the past several years, starting from 600 trillion rials ($3.7 billion) in 2017-18 to 900 trillion rials ($5.6 billion) in the year ending March 2019.
Officials believe that given the domestic potential and the enthusiasm of tech teams, exports will soon reach 5 quadrillion rials ($31.6 billion).
Qaderifar also said tech firms and knowledge-based companies started growing in 2014, reaching over 4,800 units at present, creating jobs for over 300,000 people.
“They were expected to meet the domestic market demand, but they have developed their businesses to an extent that they can augment the export revenue, in addition to boosting the domestic economy,” he said.
“The figures prove that the solution to economic hardships facing Iran today can be found inside and not outside the country.”
Extending support to new startups and technology firms has been on the government's agenda since 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani began his first term in office.
Financial Support
The Iranian officials believe that the government's financial support to knowledge-based companies and tech firms have successfully paid off.
State officials say they will continue backing the tech units to help curb the country's dependency on oil-based revenues and convert the conventional domestic economy to a knowledge-based one.
The state-affiliated Iran National Innovation Fund is one of the government's key institutions in distributing resources allocated for the technology ecosystem.
INIF has invested 140 billion rials ($886,000) in nanotechnology firms to boost the domestic production of health-protective items used for shielding against the novel coronavirus.
According to the fund’s website Inif.ir, Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council has helped INIF sign contracts with eligible knowledge-based companies.
Mohammad Ali Bahreini, the head of Nano-Fund Department at the council, told the media that the contracts are geared toward the production of N95 and N99 facemasks for the medical staff.
Besides the investment, INIF announced in mid-March plans to pay 45 trillion rials ($284.8 million) in loans to knowledge-based companies and tech firms to boost their operations.
To receive the loan and start production, the applicant knowledge-based company should be certified by all the institutions involved, including Iran’s Food and Drug Administration and Health Ministry.
INIF chief Ali Vahdat said there are over 400 knowledge-based firms currently working on anti-coronavirus products, some of whose fields of activity had nothing to do with the disease earlier.
“Their rapid business adjustment to the ongoing issues in the country is praiseworthy,” he said.
