Plastic production reduced six percent during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21- December 21, 2014), due to lack of raw materials, Nasrollah Reza-Zadeh, the head of plastic industry cooperatives told ILNA on Friday. On the other hand, import of plastic products increased by 20 percent over the same period. According to the official, 94,000 metric tons of raw materials were imported, while the figure stood at 165,000 tons for the same period last year. Decrease in the import of raw materials reduced the production level by six percent. The recent slump in oil prices has forced petrochemical companies to revise their policies on offering raw materials to the domestic market and opt for storing them in their depots instead, he added. Reza-Zadeh predicted that in case the current situation persists, domestic production of plastic products will experience a 10 to 12 percent fall in the upcoming year (starting March 21).
