TEHRAN -- Petrochemical Commercial Company (PCC) has exported 2.36 million tons of various petrochemical products worth $480 million over the past seven months.

PCC Managing Director, Mohammad Ehtiyati told IRNA here on Sunday that 2.35 million tons of petrochemical products worth 3.8 trillion rials were supplied to the domestic market over the same period.

He predicted the total export of petrochemical products in the current Iranian year (started March 21) would reach $900 million.

According to the official, total production at the petrochemical complexes across the country is predicted to reach 14 million tons in the current year.

"Nine million tons of petrochemical products are expected to be supplied to the domestic and foreign markets in the current year, 50 percent of which would be the global market share," he added.

He put the value of the domestic market share of petrochemical products at seven trillion rials this year.

Ehtiyati underlined that PCC, managed to capture an increased share of the export market and attract more foreign buyers in 2002. It was chosen as an exemplary export company, he added.

The PCC Managing Director put the total value of the petrochemical production over the current year at $1.8 billion and predicted it would reach $5.8 billion by 2005, when the existing petrochemical projects under construction become operational.

It is predicted to supply 23 million tons of petrochemical products to the domestic market and earn $3.7 billion through exports.

He put Iran's share of the petrochemical products in the Middle East market at 31 percent. The share of China, Far and Near East as well as India, according to him, constitutes 15, 30 and 12-13 percent of the market respectively.

Pointing to the petrochemical plants currently under construction in Iran and supply of the range of new products once they become operational, he added, "We will be able to gain a greater share of the European and African markets, once the said plants come on stream. "Around 20 million tons of existing petrochemical products and future new products to be launched next year, have already been sold in advance to the end-users in Asian and European markets under five-year term agreements excluding any discount."