Iraq and Turkey were the main export destinations of Iranian nanotech products in the fiscal 2021-22, according to a report on nanotech exports by industry and country.Based on the report published by the news portal of Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council, Iraq and Turkey topped the list of buyers of Iranian nanotech products in the field of construction, which were followed by Lebanon, Georgia and Afghanistan.
Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan headed the list of importers of domestic nanotech textile products. Libya, Kazakhstan and the UAE came next.
Main export destinations of health and medicinal nano-based products were Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan during the year. They were followed by Venezuela, Armenia and Thailand.
Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Uzbekistan were the main importers of Iranian nanotech products in the fields of polymer and composite.
With respect to nanotech equipment, the leading importer was Kazakhstan, which was followed by the US, Russia, the UK and South Korea.
Iraq was the top importer of domestic nanotech products in the field of services. It was followed by Pakistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
The main buyers of Iranian nano-based paints and coatings during the period were Turkmenistan, the US, Iraq, Turkey and Armenia.
Iraq and Afghanistan led the field in purchasing nano-based home appliances produced by domestic companies.
Turkey and India were the main importers of Iranian oil, gas and petrochemical nanotech products in the fiscal 2021-22.
Kuwait was the only export destination of nano-based products in the fields of water and environment and Germany was the only exporter of Iranian nanomaterials.
Turkey emerged as the top importer of nano-based automotive parts and Iraq led the field in buying domestic electro-optics.
Construction, health and medicine, as well as textile, were Iran’s industrial sectors with the highest volume of nanotech exports during the period.
With the export of nearly $4 million worth of nanotech products, the domestic textile industry registered the largest number of destinations of 20 countries in the fiscal 2021-22.
After textiles, the most diversity was recorded by nano equipment exporters. However, in the fields of electro-optics, automobiles and oil, gas and petrochemicals, export destinations were limited to one or two countries.
Iraq with $21.55 million was the main export destination of domestic nanotech products during the period. It was followed by Turkey with $12.42 million.
Nanotechnology Making Headway
The domestic market for nano products on average grew annually by a whopping 102% from the fiscal 2013-14 to 2021-22, the Iranian Nano Product Market report said.
According to “The Process of Industrialization and Development of the Nanotechnology Market in Iran” index, the highest growth was in the fiscal 2020-21 at 160% and 75% in the fiscal 2021-22.
Annual nano sales in the last fiscal year that ended in March 2022 was 203,462 billion rials ($452.64 million), the news portal of Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council reported.
Sale of nano equipment logged 59% growth in fiscal 2021-22. Top-selling equipment during the period were cathodic arc coating machine, nanobubble machine (nano cavitation), freeze drying system, industrial electrospinning machines and Raman microscopes.
Growth in nanotechnology services was near 108% in 2021-22 outperforming other sectors like products and equipment. Top nano services were decorative layering, nanomaterials analysis and identification services, hard layering services, nano product commercial services and intellectual property and patent registration. The first three accounted for 97% of the total nanotech services during the period.
Nano products accounted for 97.6% of the total nano market in Iran as equipment and services accounted for 1.3% and 1%, respectively, according to the “Analysis of Nano Products Market in Fiscal 2021-22”.
The report added that 97% of the nano services belonged to "technical services" and the rest to "business services".
"Technical services" include those sold by companies such as equipment manufacturers and other producers. The main service provided in the Iranian nano market was the Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coating service.
"Business services" largely included for commercialization, intellectual property, etc. to companies active in the nanotech sector. The total nano equipment/services market in fiscal 2021-22 was 2,707 billion rials ($6.02m) and 2,093 billion rials ($4.65m), respectively.
The top 55 companies in terms of sales in March 2021-22 accounted for 90% of the total nanotech market in Iran. More than a quarter of nano companies had less than 10 billion rials ($22,246) in sales last year.
Construction Leads Nanotech Sectors
The construction sector accounted for almost half the domestic nanotech product market at 101,000 billion rials ($224.69 million) during the year under review.
In this segment, 96% belonged to sanitary wares, tiles and reflex glasses followed by the automobile and transportation industry with 29,600 billion rials ($65.85 million) of which 75% was nanocatalysts.
Almost all of the oil and gas industry's 12.5% share of the nanotech product market in 2021-22 was for nanocatalysts. The education and agriculture sectors barely accounted for 0.1% of the local nano market.
Since most Iranian nano companies were active in the field of nano-coating, nanomaterials and nanocomposites, the market plus exports were way higher in these fields last year.
The export of the following products each earned over $1 million in fiscal 2021-22: faucets with PVD coating, optical equipment, antibacterial carpets and rugs, mirror and reflex glass and anti-cancer nanomedicine.
Nanotech Production Soars
Products and equipment made in Iran based on nanotechnology increased sixfold in nine years, according to latest data released by the Nanotechnology Development Headquarters of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.
The office monitors the nanoscale of products and issues permits. Nano-based products and equipment increased from fiscal 2013-14 to 2021-22, it said.
An estimated 1,376 nanotech devices and equipment have been produced by domestic companies, the news portal of the vice presidency reported.
Data released by the office show that until the end of the ninth fiscal month (Nov. 22-Dec. 21, 2022), nano products made by 271 companies had public use and those manufactured by 64 others had industrial applications.
Domestic nanotech companies exported $62 million worth of products to 48 countries in the fiscal 2021-22 -- up 53% from the previous year. However, the annual 7% share of nanotech products in total Iranian export remained unchanged during the period.
Nanotechnology has emerged as a key universal player with a progressively important role in people’s lives such as treatment of special diseases. It has helped reduce the overall cost of equipment produced for healthcare while increasing their efficiency compared to ordinary counterparts.
