TEHRAN – Latest Data released by the Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry shows that 72,250 industrial and mining units are operating across the country in which nearly 2.43 million people are working, ISNA reported.

According to the data, with 15,822 active units, the field of non-metallic minerals accounts for the biggest share of the mentioned units, while food and beverage products and rubber and plastic products with 8,682 and 7,524 units are in the second and third places.

In terms of job creation, the group of non-metallic minerals has also the highest employment rate, with 382,837 people working in this sector. The group of food and beverage products and the group of manufacturing chemical products are also in the second and third place with the employment of 362,223 and 200,358 people.

Tehran, Isfahan, and Khorasan Razavi provinces had 9785, 8585, 5294 active units, respectively, by the end of the last Iranian calendar year (March 19) accounting for the highest number of units among the Iranian provinces.

The employment of the said provinces in the industrial and mineral units was 402,915, 262,498, and 193,290 people respectively.

Also, Kish Free Zone with two active units, Chabahar Free Zone with 73 units and Maku Free Zone with 84 units had the least number of active units among the provinces, with 70, 1416 and 2330 people working in them, respectively.

In the past few years, many of the production units across Iran have been wrestling with financial issues as well as the problem of supplying their raw materials, so that many have been forced to shut down or decrease their activates.

Iran’s Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry plans to bring 1500 idle units, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), back into operation by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2021).

Based on the ministry’s plans for the current year, reviving 1,020 unproductive small mines is also on the ministry’s agenda.

EF/MA