More than $2 billion worth of clothes have been illegally imported during the first nine months of the current year (March 231- December 21), while legal import stood at $6 million during the same period, deputy minister of industries, mine, and trade Mojtaba Khosrotaj said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 2nd exhibition of ‘capabilities of Iran apparel industry’ on Monday. Smuggling threatens the domestic textile industry and has become a lucrative business for smugglers; the ministry’s website quoted the official as saying. He said while the administration seeks to support the domestic apparel market via levying tariffs on imports, domestic producers should improve the quality of their products to be able to compete with their foreign rivals.
