TEHRAN - Head of the Iranian Ceramic-Tile Producers Syndicate (IRCPS) said the country’s ceramic and tile exports in the Iranian calendar year of 1397 (ended on March 20, 2019) increased by 10 percent compared to its preceding year.

“The ceramic and tile exports stood at 121 million cubic meters in [Iranian calendar year of] 1396,” Mohammad Roshanfekr told IRNA.

The official put the country’s ceramic and tile production during the Iranian calendar year of 1397 at about 400 million cubic meters.

Roshanfekr further noted that the country’s tile and ceramics industry is working at only 40 percent of its full capacity and that many companies are on the verge of bankruptcy due to their inability to pay off bank loans.

“Despite western sanctions imposed on Iran during the past few years, tile and ceramics manufacturers have made attempts in order to retain their export market,” he said.

According to Roshanfekr, Iran is the world’s fifth biggest exporter of ceramics and tile after China, India, Brazil and Spain.

Current statistics suggest that in the past years over 80 percent of the country’s tiles and ceramics production has been consumed in the domestic market, while the rest was exported to Iraq and other target markets.

EF/MA