TEHRAN – Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi Amin has said the country’s home appliance exports are set to become twice as much as the volume of imports by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (starts in March 2025), IRNA reported.

Speaking in a meeting with the representatives of the country’s home appliance manufacturers on Saturday, Fatemi Amin said: “Statistics show that the export of home appliances is much less than the imports in this sector.”

Emphasizing that despite the growth of production in the home appliance industry, the ratio of exports to imports is not defensible, the official added: "This trend should change so that the exports to imports ratio would double by 1404."

“Plans should be made so that next year we will see a 50 percent growth in exports over imports,” he said, noting that an appropriate trade balance in the home appliances industry is the next goal in this sector for the Iranian calendar year 1402 (begins in March 2023).

Stating that Iran is in a good position in terms of variety and quantity of home appliance production the minister stressed: “It should be noted that the production growth and development of products in this sector should also continue.”

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.

Iran exported $200 million worth of home appliances during the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), according to an official with the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry.

Keyvan Gordan, director-general of the electrical, metal, and home appliances office of the Industry Ministry said the ministry has targeted $600 million of exports for the mentioned sector in the current year.

Speaking in a gathering of the country’s home appliance parts manufacturers in early May, Gordan said Iran halted the imports of home appliances in June 2018 to support domestic production, and last year we achieved self-sufficiency in this sector.

“This year we intend to increase production and have a strong presence in export destinations,” he stressed.

Pointing to the $6 billion turnover of the home appliance industry, the official said: “This industry has provided 300,000 direct jobs as well as one million indirect jobs in the country and 500 manufacturing companies are currently active in this sector.”

Back in April, Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mehdi Sadeqi Niaraki said that the country’s home appliance industry grew by 78-percent in the past Iranian calendar year.

Niaraki noted that considering the Iranian home appliance industry’s infrastructure and capacities, the country will be able to become a net 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."

EF/MA