Producers Under Pressure Amid Non-Clearance of Raw Materials

The shortage of foreign currency for importing raw materials is the biggest challenge facing Iranian industries. 
According to Abdolvahab Sahlabadi, the head of Iran’s House of Industry, Mine and Trade, many producers purchase their raw materials from foreign countries but their imports are unable to undergo customs clearance, Fars News Agency reported. 
“One manufacturer is now paying $5,200 per day in demurrage charges. This comes as they managed to skirt sanctions and buy unprocessed goods or spare parts with great difficulty, only to fail to clear them from customs,” he said.  
Sahlabadi said it is six months now that goods have been piling up at customs offices, adding that without production, manufacturers cannot have exports and export earnings to repatriate to the country.
“The Central Bank of Iran and the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade need to reach an agreement in this regard. The multiple exchange rate system has puzzled producers. Some of them have even floated the idea of discharging their goods by providing forex at the free market rate but their proposal was rejected,” he said. 
Following the depreciation of national currency against foreign currencies in early 2017, the government introduced stringent rules like banning the import of non-essential goods, especially those produced inside the country (known as Group IV goods).