Tehran Hosts Int’l Home Appliances Expo

Tehran is hosting the 17th International Exhibition of Home Appliances that opened on Thursday and will run through Nov. 28.

“Our home appliances industry accounts for 0.7% of the country’s gross domestic product,” Minister of Industries Mohammad Shariatmadari said during the opening ceremony of the exhibition, IRNA reported.

According to Iran’s Home Appliances Association Secretary Habibollah Ansari, 298 domestic and 137 foreign companies from China, Russia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Switzerland are taking part in the event.

According to the official, Iran’s home appliance industry currently has a turnover of $8 billion per year, as local production meets 75% of domestic demand.

He added that some 400 small and large units producing home appliances are active in Iran, which have created more than 100,000 jobs.

According to Abbas Hashemi, director general of Metal Products and Home Appliances Department of the Ministry of Industries, Iran’s home appliance imports stood at $722 million in the fiscal 2016-17.

China, the UAE, South Korea, Turkey, Thailand, Italy and Germany are major exporters of home appliances to Iran. The main appliances imported into Iran include split air conditioners, refrigerators and small appliances.

Hashemi said smuggling has a 17% (about $1.2-1.3 billion) share in the Iranian home appliances market.

Iran also exports home appliances. Last fiscal year (March 2016-17) it exported $245 million worth of home appliances. Evaporative coolers, cooling devices, refrigerators and gas appliances are among major products exported from Iran, mainly to Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, the UAE, Syria and Italy.

Deputy Minister of Industries Reza Rahmani said Iran is targeting the export figures of $600 million, $1.6 billion and $3 billion worth of home appliances in the current Iranian year (2017-18), 2020-21 and 2025-26 respectively.