Export of Key Ingredient in PET Hurting Domestic Petrochem Sector

Domestic companies are facing chronic shortages of polyethylene terephthalate, commonly known as PET because the key raw material is being exported in bigger volumes. 
According to data provided by the Trademap website, Iran imported 90,000 tons of PET worth $100 million in 2017, whereas the same amount could have been produced by domestic firms, Mehr News Agency reported.
Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is an important raw material used in manufacturing PET. Of the total 1.3 million tons of MEG produced in the country, 1 million tons is unusually exported leaving barely 300,000 tons for home consumption.