The 22nd International Home Appliance Manufacturers Exhibition, also known as HAMEX, is scheduled to be held at Tehran’s International Fairground from Dec. 20-23.
The event is aimed at increasing domestic production, developing cooperation, creating healthy domestic and international competition, exchanging information and knowhow, transferring technology and expanding international links, IRIB News reported.
Exhibitors will showcase their latest products and services related to heating and cooling systems, audiovisual systems, washing machines, kitchen utensils and dishes (porcelain, Teflon, steel, ceramic), cooking systems such as gas stoves, grills, barbecues and fryers, vacuum cleaners, juicers, meat grinders, tea-makers, sewing machines and related parts and components.
Import Ban and Smuggling
The government has banned the import of homes appliances for many years now, which also top the list of goods smuggled into Iran.
Officials say more than 3.5 million smuggled home appliances were seized during March 21-Oct. 22, which register a 75% rise year-on-year.
Iran’s home appliance market is worth $6 billion per annum, 40% of which are dominated by contraband, the head of Iran’s Household Appliances Industry Union said last year.
“Smuggled home appliances make up around $2.5 billion of the domestic market. The share of smaller items and kitchenware like cutlery, crockery and crystal artifacts are higher, which has created difficulties for the producers of these products,” Alireza Mohammadi Daniali was also quoted as saying by the news portal of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
Iran also exports its domestically-made home appliances.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are the main destinations, according to the head of Household Appliances Spare Parts Manufacturers Association
“We also export spare parts of stoves, heaters and faucets to Turkey, Germany, the UK and France. Moreover, we have exports of polymer products and glass to many destinations every year,” Morsal Seddiq was also quoted as saying by the news portal of ICCIMA.
Impact of Smuggling
Arj Home Appliances Company was established around 70 years ago and is considered one of the oldest producers of home appliances in Iran. It went bankrupt in the fiscal 2016-17. The company’s officials said at the time that the main reason for its bankruptcy was rising competition from foreign brands, including the onslaught of Chinese and South Korean brands.
The company reopened in March after five years of closure as 2 trillion rials (about $6.4 million) were invested for it to get back on its feet mainly by the Social Security Investment Company, according to the CEO of Tamin General Industrial Holding Company, affiliated with SSIC.
The reopening of Arj, he said, would create around 800 direct and more than 2,500 indirect jobs.
“Plans are for Arj to manufacture some 228,000 items of household appliances within the next four years. The manufacturing methods will be SKD [semi-knocked-down kit] and CKD [complete knocked-down kit]. The company is also looking to become self-sufficient in producing 60% of the required parts,” Mohsen Mohammadi, CEO of Tamin General Industrial Holding Company, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Arj is a major producer of swamp coolers in Iran.
A total of 24,460 tons of swamp coolers worth $46.61 million were exported from Iran during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), registering a 31% rise in value compared with the similar period of last year, data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Association show.
Turkey, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Sudan were the main destinations for Iranian swamp coolers during the period.
Also known as swamp cooler, desert cooler and wet air cooler, evaporative coolers can reduce energy consumption and total equipment for conditioning as an alternative to compressor-based cooling in arid climates.
It is one of the main home appliances exported from Iran.
Arj originally began with a small factory producing metal products. Gradually, it broadened its range of products, increasing the number of employees to eight in the 1940s. On expanding the company, the brand moved to Tehran-Karaj Road – the main industrial area to the west of the capital – where it broadened its range to include several household appliances, according to bne IntelliNews.
Yadollah Tahernejad, the head of the company’s Board of Directors, says the company plans to manufacture nine types of home appliances within the next three years.
Inflation at 34.8%
“Home Appliances, Furniture and Maintenance”, one of 12 groups of goods and services surveyed by the Statistical Center of Iran, registered an annualized inflation rate of 34.8% in the sixth month of the current Iranian year (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
The group’s month-on-month and year-on-year inflation rates were reported at 1.8% and 36% respectively.
The 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services surveyed by SCI include "food and beverages" with a coefficient of 26.64%, "tobacco" with 0.59%, "clothing and shoes" with 4.78%, "housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuels" with 35.5% (highest), "furniture, home appliances and their maintenance" with 3.93%, "health and treatment" with 7.14%, "transportation" with 9.41%, "communications" with 2.87%, "leisure and culture" with 1.65%, "education" with 1.86%, "hotels and restaurants" with 1.44% and "miscellaneous items and services" with 4.18%.
The general annualized inflation in the month ending Sept. 22 was 42.1%.
The general goods and services Consumer Price Index (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 525.4 in the month under review, indicating a month-on-month rise of 2.2% and a year-on-year rise of 49.7%.
Among 12 groups of goods and services reviewed by SCI, the highest and lowest annualized inflation rates were respectively registered for “hotels and restaurants” with 69.8% and “communications” with 5.7%.
The highest MOM inflation rates were respectively registered for “hotels and restaurants” with 4.9% and “transportation” at 0.2% month-on-month.
“Hotels and restaurants” with 84.4% and “communications” with 10.4% experienced the highest and lowest YOY inflation respectively.
