TEHRAN – Some 820 new production units went operational in industrial parks across the country during the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21–June 21), IRIB reported, quoting deputy director of the Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) as saying.

Speaking to the state television on Monday, Asghar Mosaheb said the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exported over $4.5 billion worth of commodities in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).
 
“To date, 68 export consortiums have also been formed by domestic SMEs in order to export similar products,” he said.

Mosaheb further called for implementation of programs by the government including financial support through the budget allocated for supporting domestic production.

He also stressed the need for providing infrastructure including running water, electricity and gas for the country’s industrial parks.

Last week, ISIPO Head Mohsen Salehinia announced that more than 33,000 SMEs are currently active in Iran, of which 1,100 are exporting their products and services to foreign markets.
“Although the SMEs have the potential to provide nearly 900,000 job opportunities across the country, but currently 22 percent of the SMEs are idle and there are only 710,000 people working in active units,” the official said.

Reviving idle units and helping them to get back into business is one of the major programs that ISIPO is following, he noted.

“ISIPO plans to help revive 1,300 idle SMEs by the end of the current year [Iranian calendar year which ends on March 19, 2020],” Salehinia said.

According to Salehinia, currently 43,650 SMEs are based in over 800 industrial parks across the country, of which nearly 78 percent or 33,800 ones are active.

EF/MG