TEHRAN- The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), said that petrochemical products are leading in the country's exports.

Mohammad Rezvani-Far said that petrochemicals account for 45 percent of the value of Iran’s non-oil export.

As stated by Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC)’s Managing Director Morteza Shahmirzaei, the petrochemical sector has the highest added value in the oil industry chain.

The official has put the country’s annual petrochemical production capacity at 90 million tons.

“Some products were not considered in the previous periods and we were faced with their import at the cost of five billion dollars”, he said, adding, “The products of the propylene chain are of special importance and include 70 percent of the total petrochemical imports. To reduce the dependency, the petrochemical company has focused on the development of value chain projects.”

The NPC’s managing director further stressed that the petrochemical industry is a value and job-creating industry, which has no risk.

The official said that 69 production units (including three service units that provide services such as water, electricity, and steam for production units) are now active in the petrochemical industry of Iran, which plays a significant role in bringing foreign currency to the country.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Shahmirzaei stressed that domestic production should be realized in all sectors of the petrochemical industry.

A small part is still remaining so that this target will be achieved, he added.

Petrochemical Research and Technology Company and Research Institute of Petroleum Industry in addition to the other related institutes and centers are taking all efforts in this due, the official added.

MA/MA