Tile, ceramic exports earn $272m

Head of Iran Tile and Ceramic Producers Guild Association, Mohammad Roushanfekr, said on Saturday that export of tile and ceramics in the first 10 months rose by seven percent in weight but declined by 29 percent in value compared to the figures in the same period last year.

Roshanfekr said in the first 10 months (March 21, 2015-January 20, 2016) of the last Iranian year of 1394, 93 million square meters of tile and ceramics were exported for 350 million dollars, ILNA reported.

Roshanfekr said tile and ceramic imports in the first seven months (March 20-October 20, 2016) declined by 40 percent in value compared to the figure in the same period the previous year.

He said in the first seven months of this year, 728,000 square meters of tile and ceramics were imported, while the figure was 1.8 million square meters in the corresponding period last year.

He added that the value of imports in the seven-month period under study was 2.88 million dollars.

Head of the Guild Association said that according to the statistics and data issued by the Customs Administration Organization, value of the exported tile and ceramics in the year 1394 in comparison with that in the previous year of 1393 increased by around 15 percent, but decreased by three percent in weight.
He added that African markets like those in Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria, Niger, Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana were the targets of Iranian products in year 1394.
Roushanfekr recalled that 134 factories are now busy producing tiles and ceramics in in Iran.
He added that 44 tile and ceramics factories are also under construction in Iran.
According to the Strategic Planning Department of the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Trade, for the year 1396 (2017-18), access to export value of 860 million dollars has been predicted and for the year 1399 (2020-21) the figure will be 1.3 billion dollars.
He added that because of the economic and market situation now the producers prefer to run to the 50 to 55 percent of their capacity.
Figures indicate that in the years 1392 to 1393 countries like Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Georgia absorbed 93 percent of total export of Iran and Iraq, absorbing 70 percent of the products, reserved the highest share in the total and Georgia, absorbing only two percent of the products, had the least share in the imports.
Tajikistan, Azerbaijan Republic, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia were among other markets for Iranian tile and ceramics in the years 1392 and 1393, he said.