Apparel Industry’s Job Creation Potential High

With 5 trillion rials (over $133 million) worth of investment, Iran’s apparel industry has the potential of creating 370,000 jobs, a deputy minister of cooperatives, labor and social welfare said.

“At present, the industry has provided employment for 540,000 people. The apparel industry creates some 900% value-added and has a lot of room for growth,” Isa Mansouri was also quoted as saying by IRNA.

Mansouri noted that there is no need for setting up new apparel production units in Iran, in view of the large number of manufacturers running under capacity.

The domestic apparel market is worth an estimated $12 billion per year. Currently, close to 1,500 manufacturing units and more than 20,000 retail outlets are active in this industry across the country. These units have an annual nominal production capacity of 340,000 tons.

According to the Association of Iran Textile Industries, close to $7 billion worth of foreign apparel and shoes are bought in Iran every year, about $3 billion to $4 billion (almost 50%) of which are contraband.