Slapping duties on decorative stone exports will prevent the sector from growing and realizing its expansion goals, said a member of Iran Mine House on Sunday.
According to Abolqasem Shafiei, raw stone exports are the lifeline of many Iranian miners, as processing has no economic justification in the current circumstances. He added that over 700 of Iran’s 1,900 stone mines have gone out of business in recent years.
His statements came after deputy minister of industries, mining and trade, Jafar Sarqeyni, announced that unprocessed decorative stone exports will be slapped with a 5-15% tariff rate as of the next Iranian year (starting March 21, 2017).
A similar measure has been taken with regard to iron ore, copper and gold.
According to Mehdi Karbasian, the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, the export of these minerals in the raw form will be banned altogether as of March 2017.
Decorative stone exports were banned back in 2006 to put an end to the sale of unprocessed minerals. This dealt a serious blow to the sector’s standing in international markets. Although the measure was eventually revoked, experts believe the sector has yet to regain the markets it has lost.
According to the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, Iran holds about 5 billion tons of ornamental stone reserves and produces close to 14 million tons per year.
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