Iran has the capacity to increase its non-oil exports to $70 billion by the end of the current year (ending March 20, 2015), Asadollah Asgaroladi, head of Tehran’s chamber of commerce, industries, mines and agriculture, said on Sunday.
“Iran has exported $33 billion worth of different commodities during the first eight months of the current year, which shows $7 billion increase compared with the same period last year,” he said, as reported by ISNA. “That indicates our country is able to further boost its non-oil exports.”
In its next year’s budget proposed to the parliament, the government has tried to generate new sources of revenue to replace oil. The move is in line with a new economic policy, aimed at lessening the effects of economic sanctions imposed by the EU and the US over Tehran’s nuclear energy program – particularly those affecting the oil industry and the banking system.
Yet, projections by other sources cite different statistics. If everything goes as planned, non-oil exports would reach $61 billion by March 2015, said Yaghmour Gholizadeh, the deputy chairman of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran.
Calling on the government to take necessary steps to solve the banking problems, Asgaroladi said, “Iranian exporters are not able to bring the money into the country as a result of the ongoing banking dispute with the West. Many European and especially German banks have closed the bank accounts held by Iranian businesspeople.”
