There are more than 140 producers of ceramics and tiles in Iran, of which 95% belong to the private sector and about 450,000 people work in this field directly and indirectly, according to Behnam Aziz-Zadeh, director of Iran’s Tiles and Ceramics Association.
Domestic production capacity stands at 720 million square meters per year, which is threefold higher than domestic consumption, he was also quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
“A total of 460 million square meters of tiles and ceramics were produced last year [March 2021-22], of which 182 million square meters were exported to 52 countries.”
Aziz-Zadeh put the value of exports at $700-800 million and said Iran ranks sixth in both production and export of tiles and ceramics in the world.
“More than 73% of Iran’s tiles and ceramics exports are shipped to Iraq that imports 84% of its tiles and ceramics from Iran,” he said.
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, the UAE, Tajikistan, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are other buyers of Iranian tiles and ceramics.
Noting that Iran’s tiles and ceramics industry has the latest technology in the world, the official said, “We also have exports to European countries.”
He added that a portion of Iran’s exports to Iraq is reexported to third countries.
The import of tiles and ceramics into Iran is banned, although there are smuggled goods in the market imported from China and Italy.
“The volume of these smuggled products is not high and our domestic products can compete with them in terms of both price and quality,” he said.
Aziz-Zadeh stressed the need to diversify destinations for exports to be able to maintain their competitive edge in terms of pricing.
“Some of our tile and ceramic production is bought by Turkish exporters and sold at higher prices in the global market,” he added.
On the Russian market, the official said the country imports 100 million square meters each year, but Iran’s exports to this country is one million square meters annually.
The 27th International Exhibition of Ceramic and Tiles, Sanitary Ware and Related Industries is scheduled to be held from Oct. 2-5 in Tehran.
The event is an opportunity for producers and exporters to contribute to the growth and development of the industrial position of Iran in line with the target to increase non-oil exports, the news portal of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture reported.
More than 150 domestic producers are expected to attend the event to showcase their latest products and services.
Thirty-eight countries have been invited to take part in the expo. So far, Turkey, China and Italy have announced their readiness to attend.
Dedicating half of the domestic production of tiles and ceramics to itself, Yazd Province is the production hub of these products.
Iran’s tile industry enjoys cheap energy and raw material resources, combined with indigenous expertise rooted in history. However, producers have to compete with foreign producers, especially the Chinese, with much lower production costs and considerably higher economies of scale.
