Iran has exported 99,000 metric tons of home appliances worth of over $139 million in the first five months of the current calendar year.
An official from Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization said that home appliances exports covered a wide range of devices and gadgets including fridges, washing machines, boilers, TV sets, heaters and swamp coolers.
Mohsen Montazeri said, however, that exports have declined compared to the same period last year mainly because of coronavirus restrictions and tariff issues.
Restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus as well as a 10-fold increase in tariffs in Iraq on electronic devices imported from Iran had contributed to declined exports over the five-month period, he said.
Export of home appliances from Iran has witnessed a significant surge over the past two years after US sanctions caused Iran’s manufacturing sector to grow at the expense of lower sales of crude oil.
Annual exports of home appliances amounted to nearly $170 million in 2018-219, ISNA news agency reported citing an industry source.
Iran’s Ministry of Industries expects annual output in home appliances sector to reach 11.6 million devices in the calendar year to late March 2021 although domestic demand is expected to exceed 12.5 million devices against the backdrop of near-zero imports into the country.
According to a report by Iran’s Ministry of Trade published early September the country’s exports of goods excluding crude oil reached nearly $11 billion in value terms in five months ending late July.
The report showed that total exports from Iran between March 20 and August 21 had exceeded $10.9 billion while imports into Iran had topped $13.7 billion over the same period.