Tehran is hosting two international exhibitions in the fields of textile and apparel production, which opened on Oct. 21 and will run through Oct. 24.
The most prominent event is the 28th International Exhibition of Textile, Machinery, Raw Materials, Home Textiles, Embroidery Machinery and Textile Products, also known as IRANTEX 2022, IRNA reported.
Representatives of 155 Iranian and 40 companies from Germany, Italy, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Turkey, India and China are taking part in this exhibition to showcase their latest products and services.
The event has been organized with the aim of expanding exports, finding new markets and trade partners, introducing the latest technological, industrial and scientific advancements, transferring technology, preparing the grounds for foreign and local investments and creating job opportunities.
The other event is the 10th International Apparel Exhibition, also known as Iran Mode 2022, where different kinds of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as apparel production machinery are being showcased.
The two exhibitions are open to public from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Annual Exports Rise 61% to $113m
A total of $113 million worth of apparel were exported from Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2021-22), registering a 61.4% rise compared with the year before when the figure stood close to $70 million, according to the deputy head of Iran Apparel and Textile Production and Exports Union.
“Our main export destinations were Iraq, Afghanistan, the littoral states of the Persian Gulf as well as Central Asian countries,” Majid Nami was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
He referred to sanctions as an obstacle in the way of Iranian exporters’ competitiveness and said: “The strict sanctions imposed on us makes imports of raw materials, production lines and the required machinery very difficult and expensive. That’s why we have not been able to improve the quality and quantity of our apparel and lower the end prices.”
He also referred to smuggling and said it harms competition in local market.
Smuggled products make up around $2 billion or 25% of Iran’s annual apparel market, according to the secretary of Producers and Exporters of Textile and Apparel Union.
“At present, Iran’s apparel market is worth $8 billion. The figure shows a decline compared with the fiscal 2017-18 when the market size was more than $12 billion. The main reasons are the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected the global clothing market in general, in addition to the depreciation of rial against the dollar,” Saeed Jalali Qadiri was also quoted as saying by the news portal of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
Qadiri noted that per capita apparel consumption has dropped from $150 to $100 over the period under review.
“Presently, the lion’s share of apparel smuggled into Iran are off-season brands sold at discounted prices that happen to be even lower than the production cost and that of the raw materials combined with price tags no one can compete with."
He called on related officials to take urgent measures to combat contraband apparel in the market and lend support to domestic manufacturers.
Textile Imports at $1b p.a.
A total of 900 million square meters of textile worth $1 billion are imported every year, according to a member of the Board of Directors at the Textile Industries Association.
“Close to 3.6 billion square meters of different kinds of textile are consumed in the country per year, some 2.7 billion square meters of which are produced domestically and the rest needs to be imported,” Amin Moqaddam was quoted as saying by IRIB News.
The official noted that the Iranian textile industry needs investment to be able to meet local demand, adding that the country will be able to export its products, if investments in machinery and production lines increase.
He added that a massive volume of contraband textile enters the country every year and hamper local production.
About $4.5 billion worth of textile products were smuggled into Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2021-22), according to Abbas Sarshar, a board member of Iran’s Textile Industry Union.
“The figure shows an 18.4% rise compared with the $3.8 billion of the year before,” he said.
According to Sarshar, Iran’s textile industry exports $1 billion worth of products every year.
“Machine-made carpet accounts for close to 90% of this volume,” he said.
Textile Union’s Letter to Interior Ministry
Garment manufacturers are grappling with recession due to smuggling, shortage of raw materials and a sharp decline in purchasing power due to the outbreak of Covid-19, reads a letter by Textile and Clothing Producers Unions addressed to Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and published by the news portal of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture last year.
“Given the $2 billion share of smuggling in the $8 billion worth clothing market of Iran and its upsurge in recent months, shortage of raw materials and equipment, as well as the sharp decline in clothing consumption due to Covid-19, clothing and related industries have fallen into recession. Investment is going downhill despite the low cost of job creation in this economic sector,” he added.
Iran’s textile and clothing supply chain, with more than 7,900 industrial units and 140,000 trade unions and employment of one million people in the production sector alone, continues to be undermined by smuggling and unregulated, excessive imports via legal channels and entities such as free and special trade zones, sailors, border markets, border couriers and travelers say.
