TEHRAN- Iran’s export of home appliances has increased 34 percent during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the secretary-general of the Association of Industries of Household Appliances of Iran announced.

Abbas Hashemi put the value of the two-month export of the mentioned products at $54 million, and named Iraq, Afghanistan, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), North Africa, and Persian Gulf states as the major export destinations of these products.

Some Iranian home appliances such as wall-mounted water heaters have also been exported to the European Union countries, especially to Italy, he underlined.

Iran exported $200 million worth of home appliances during the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), according to an official with the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry.

Keyvan Gordan, director-general of the electrical, metal, and home appliances office of the Industry Ministry, said the ministry has targeted $600 million of exports for the mentioned sector in the current year.

Gordan said, “Iran halted the imports of home appliances in June 2018 to support domestic production, and last year we achieved self-sufficiency in this sector.”

“This year we intend to increase production and have a strong presence in export destinations,” he stressed.

Pointing to the $6 billion turnover of the home appliance industry, the official said: “This industry has provided 300,000 direct jobs as well as one million indirect jobs in the country and 500 manufacturing companies are currently active in this sector.”

As reported, over 15 million sets of home appliances have been manufactured in the country during the past Iranian calendar year, which was 78 percent more than the output in its preceding year.

Rise in home appliances manufacturing and export has been also planned for the current year.

Iran’s Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mehdi Sadeqi Niaraki has stated that the production of home appliances in the country has increased by 36 percent following the exit of foreign brands.

“Following the imposition of U.S. sanctions and the withdrawal of South Korean companies from Iran, the production of Iranian home appliances increased by 36 percent,” Niaraki said on the sidelines of a visit to a production unit.

According to Niaraki, the indigenization of the knowledge for the production of such products has also increased by 20 percent since the Iranian calendar year 1396 (ended on March 20, 2018).

“Currently, Iranian producers have indigenized the knowledge for manufacturing about 70 percent of the country’s home appliance needs, and the figure has reached 90 percent for some products,” he said.

Niaraki noted that considering the Iranian home appliance industry’s infrastructure and capacities, the country will be able to become an exporter of such products in the near future because most of the raw materials needed by the mentioned sector are produced domestically.

Regarding the return of foreign brands like Samsung and LG to the country, Niaraki said: "Currently, the return of foreign companies is not on the agenda; domestic companies have found their place and are fully capable to produce and meet the needs of the country.”

Stating that the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry will definitely support domestic manufacturers and national brands, the official added: "Today we have the necessary manpower, knowledge, and infrastructure in the field, so there is no reason to look for foreign sources to meet the country’s demands."

Over the past few years, the Iranian government has been following a new strategy for supporting domestic production to neutralize the impacts of the U.S. sanctions while reducing the reliance of the economy on oil revenues.

The home appliances sector has been one of the pioneers in this regard and like many other areas, the production of home appliances has witnessed a significant rise in the past two years so that in the Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended on March 19) this industry’s production capacity increased by 10 percent compared to the preceding year.

MA/MA