Iranian petrochemical plants exported 17.5 million tons of goods in the current fiscal year’s first seven months (March 21-Oct. 22), secretary-general of the Association of Petrochemical Employers Unions said.
The figure indicated a 13% increase compared to last year’s corresponding period when the figure was 15.500 million tons.
The country has also registered a 7% year-on-year increase in petrochemical production in the seven-month period.
“Between March and October 2021, major petrochemical complexes produced close to 38.608 million tons of commodities, whereas the figure rose to 41.550 million tons in the same period of the current fiscal year,” ISNA also quoted Ahmad Mahdavi-Abhari as saying.
According to the official, Petrochemical companies increased their contribution to the integrated forex management system, locally known as Nima, by 30% and injected $8.7 billion during March 21-Oct. 22.
Nima is an online platform affiliated to the Central Bank of Iran where exporters sell their forex revenue and companies buy it for importing goods, machinery, equipment and raw materials.
“The petrochem industry accounted for 39.6% [$9 billion] of Iran’s total non-oil exports between March 21 and Sept. 22, which reached $24 billion,” Mahdavi-Abhari said.
“The sector’s nominal output capacity is around 75 million tons, but the shortage of feedstock and lack of a strong presence in global markets do not permit the industry to operate at full capacity. As the weather gets colder, natural gas consumption will rise in the household sector, meaning petrochemical factories will be deprived of the valuable feedstock.”