TEHRAN- Manufacturing of refrigerators and freezers in Iran has increased 11.9 percent during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the data released by Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry indicate.

As reported, 858,700 refrigerators and freezers have been manufactured in the five-month period of this year.

Manufacturing of home appliances in Iran has risen 8.7 percent during the first five months of the present year, as 2.61 million sets of such products have been manufactured inside the country.

Home appliances manufacturing has also increased 78 percent to stand at 15 million sets in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).

Rise in home appliances manufacturing and export has been also planned for the current year.

Last year, the industry was able to achieve 78 percent growth despite the restrictions on the manufacturing sector, Deputy Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mehdi Sadeqi Niaraki has said, adding, “While foreign brands left Iran, manufacturers were able to achieve this leap by relying on domestic capacities.”

Back in April, the official had said that considering the Iranian home appliance industry’s infrastructure and capacities, the country will be able to become an exporter of such products in the near future because most of the raw materials needed by the mentioned sector are produced domestically.

Stating that the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry will definitely support domestic manufacturers and national brands, the official added: "Today we have the necessary manpower, knowledge, and infrastructure in the field, so there is no reason to look for foreign sources to meet the country’s demands."

Over the past few years, the Iranian government has been following a new strategy for supporting domestic production to neutralize the impacts of the U.S. sanctions while reducing the reliance of the economy on oil revenues.

The home appliances sector has been one of the pioneers in this regard and like many other areas, the production of home appliances has witnessed a significant rise in the past two years so that this industry’s production capacity increased by 24 percent in the past Iranian year, and by 10 percent in its preceding year.

In early April, the secretary of the Association of Industries of Household Appliances of Iran said, “We expected to produce about 12 million units, including small and large appliances in the previous year, however, the figure increased to about 15 million by the yearend, registering a 24 percent growth compared to the preceding year.”

“We also had good growth in after-sales service, product quality improvement, indigenization and exports, so that last year $345 million worth of home appliance products were exported,” Abbas Hashemi added.

Pointing to the advantages of home appliance industry in Iran, the official said: “Production of home appliances in the country is an advantage considering cheap energy and workforce and the country’s geographical situation”, he noted.

“This industry should be more supported,” he stressed.

Regarding the return of foreign brands to the country, Hashemi said: "we should prevent the imports of foreign finished products into the country in order to support domestic producers.”

He further noted that foreign companies can invest in this industry and co-produce their products with local manufacturers.

MA/MA