The manufacturing sector is currently running at 40% capacity, says the head of Manufacturing Cooperatives Union, who believes the high interest rates is the main obstacle in the way of production growth. “Unlike what’s common practice in the advanced countries where funds are made available with the lowest costs, here banks, tax and insurance offices set restrictive regulations for the producers,” Tasnim News Agency quoted Alireza Moradi as saying. Manufacturing cooperatives make up 50% of all 60,000 cooperative units across the country.
