The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade's review of the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Oct. 21) shows that 17 products (out of 29 under review) saw growth during the period compared with the similar period of the year before.
A total of 2,600 tons of acrylic fiber were produced during the period, indicating a 243.7% rise compared with last year’s corresponding period.
Television production stood at 732,800 sets to register a year-on-year increase of 70.8%.
Production of washing machines rose by 55.8% to reach 559,900 machines.
A total of 347,000 combine harvesters were produced during the period under review, indicating a 42.8% YOY increase.
More than 155,600 tons of auto tires were produced over the seven months, indicating a 28.2% growth compared with last year’s similar period.
Synthetic fiber production rose by 25% YOY to stand at 154,800 tons.
The output of refrigerators and freezers went up by 24.3% to reach more than 1.16 million.
The production of pickup trucks totaled 46,797, up by 22.7% compared with the first seven months of last year while the production of passenger vehicles reached 483,900, registering a 21.7% rise YOY.
That of carbon black amounted to a total of 79,400 tons, up 14.9% YOY; particle boards 467,300 cubic meters, up 14% YOY; industrial and motor oil stood at 381,600 tons, up 12.5% YOY; petrochemical products at 35.6 million tons, up 8.4% YOY; tractors at 11,273, up 4.6% YOY; human medicine at 27.8 billion items, up 4.2% YOY; detergent powder at 371.800 tons, up 3.5% YOY; and fibers at 907,000 cubic meters, up 1.6% YOY.
Vegetable Oil Sees Sharpest Decline
The production of 12 other industrial commodities from among the products under review experienced a decline over the same seven-month period.
Vegetable oil production saw a 19.4% YOY decline to amount to 82,910 tons, production of leather stands at 2.12 million square feet, down 17.2%, evaporative coolers at 746,900 devices, down 12.3%, polyester fibers at 122,800 tons, down 10% YOY, polyester filament sewing thread at 157,100 tons, down 8.9% YOY, electric motors at 5.05 million devices, down 8.3% YOY, buses, minibuses and vans at 1,010 vehicles, down 7.7% YOY, pesticides at 20,600 tons, down 7.3% YOY, different types of paper at 564,300 tons, down 6.9% YOY, cigarettes at 30.2 billion, down 2.6% YOY, cardboard at 307,600 tons, down 0.3% YOY and different kinds of footwear at 7.41 million pairs, down 0.01% YOY.
Almost 85% of the raw materials for producing cooking oil are imported. "The bulk of imports are palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia, soybean oil from Argentina and sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia. However, the Central Bank of Iran’s failure to allocate foreign currency to import unprocessed oils caused disruptions in the domestic market recently,” Amir-Houshang Birashk, secretary of Iranian Vegetable Oil Industry Association, told Mehr News Agency.
“The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has sent us to CBI. But the problem is that the allocated forex cannot be transferred. As we speak, 60,000 tons of unprocessed oils are held up in customs warehouses. We are negotiating to solve the problem. All edible oil companies have been affected. Imports of unprocessed oil have declined by 50%. Those in charge need to find a solution to avoid new challenges to the vegetable oil industry.”
The shortage in the market led officials to take action and clear the cargoes stuck in customs.
A total of 30,000 tons of edible oil have been distributed by the Government Trading Corporation of Iran in the domestic market over the past three days, Mohammad-Taqi Tabatabaie, the spokesman of the company, said last month.
“Strategic reserves of unprocessed oil are higher than last [Iranian] year [March 2019-20]; there is no problem or concern regarding any scarcity of the product,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“Over the past 2-3 weeks, close to 50,000 tons of edible oil have been supplied to regulate the market; the Government Trading Corporation of Iran is planning to provide more of the essential product to meet domestic demand.”
Tabatabaie noted that other than a vessel, which unloaded its cargo of 42,000 tons of raw oil at Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan, on Thursday, the offloading of another container ship carrying 131,000 tons of unprocessed oil is in progress at Imam Khomeini Port in southwestern Khuzestan Province.
Omid Jahan-Nejadian, an official with the Government Trading Corporation of Iran, said a total of 131,000 tons of unprocessed edible oil have been recently imported via Imam Khomeini Port located in the southern Khuzestan Province.
“As planned, unprocessed oil imports through Imam Khomeini Port will reach 500,000 tons by the end of the current Iranian year [March 20, 2021]. The import of unprocessed vegetable oil is continuing smoothly through other ports of entry as well,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The Government Trading Corporation of Iran, affiliated to the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, is in charge of importing four essential goods, namely sugar, rice, vegetable oil and wheat.
