In a bid to boost its readymade garment exports, India is looking to tap Iran’s market for apparel products following the removal of economic sanctions against the country last year.
An exploratory visit to Iran earlier this month saw India’s Apparel Export Promotion Council and Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture as well as Tehran Textile Union discuss how to reduce tariffs and facilitate market access, UK-based news portal Just-style.com reported.
Iran has seen a progressive reduction in tariffs from 300% during sanctions to the present 55%. The high tariffs had resulted in “unofficial” imports being over 10 times the volume of “official” imports.
As a result, trade associations have been working with the government to reduce import duties to international levels. This has become necessary, as Iran wants to be a part of the World Trade Organization and hence align with its tariff levels.
“Although the economy and trade are still recovering from the impact of the sanctions, there is a market for simple but stylish apparel products, which AEPC plans to tap,” said Ashok Rajani, chairman of the AEPC.
India’s share of Iran’s readymade garment imports was 2.5% in 2015, while Iran’s global imports grew 43.3% last year, increasing to $825.9 million from $576.2 million in 2014. However, a large segment of the Iranian market is flooded by smuggled apparel.
