TEHRAN - Iran’s 18th International Exhibition of Plastic, Rubber, Machinery, and Equipment (IRAN PLAST 2024) opened at the Tehran Permanent International Fairground on Sunday, Shana reported.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by senior officials from the industry including Head of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Morteza Shahmirzaei, and Deputy Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Baradaran.

As reported, 525 domestic companies and 288 foreign exhibitors from China, Italy, Taiwan, South Korea, Turkey, France, India, Germany, Spain, and Russia are showcasing their latest products and services in the four-day exhibition.

Representatives from Russia, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Belarus, Syria, Iraq, and Oman are also visiting the exhibition in the form of 12 business delegations with the aim of expanding cooperation with Iranian companies.

The exhibition covers various commodity and service groups including petrochemical raw materials and products, technical engineering services, prefabricated and manufactured products, machinery and equipment, scientific, research, and academic centers, HSE laboratory testing, information technology, and digital transformation, as well as polymer compound services and products.

As the biggest event in the petrochemicals and plastics industry in West Asia, Iran Plast was held for the first time in 2002 on the initiative of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) to boost the domestic plastics industry market, facilitate the global marketing process and present in international markets.

The exhibition, which is classified among the world's prestigious exhibitions of the plastic industry, seeks to provide a platform for developing the domestic plastics industry market.

A statistical look at the previous editions of the exhibition shows that this event has been following a growing trend despite all the problems and issues created by external factors like the U.S. sections.

Meanwhile, the 15th International Forum on Iran’s Petrochemical Industry (IPF) was held on August 4 and 5 at the IRIB Conference Hall.

During the two-day event, which was organized by the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), more than 40 Iranian and foreign speakers, and the representatives of 70 domestic and foreign companies participated.

As NIPNA reported, seven specialized workshops and several business promotion sessions were also held during the forum.

With the slogan of “clean technology”, the international event sought to discover new horizons in achieving sustainable development in the petrochemical industry with the effective participation and support of the private and public sector.

Also, in the current year’s IPF, this opportunity was provided for some of the companies active in this industry to showcase their capabilities in the form of an exhibition.

As announced by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s export of petrochemical products increased by 12.8 percent during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Mohammad Rezvanifar said that the country exported 24.5 million tons of petrochemicals worth $9.8 billion in the five-month period, indicating also 12.5 percent growth in terms of weight, year on year.

Head of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) has said the country’s petrochemical output is estimated to reach 80 million tons in the current Iranian calendar year (ends in late March 2025).

Noting that one of the main objectives of the Oil Ministry in the current year has been the sustained supply of feed to petrochemical complexes, Morteza Shahmirzaei put the country’s petrochemical exports in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19) at 30 million tons.

EF/MA