TEHRAN – Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister says the promotion and support of knowledge-based products as well as products with greater value added is the ministry’s priority in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 20), Tasnim reported on Friday.

According to Reza Rahmani, despite the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s major production units, especially in the field of basic goods and healthcare products, were completely active and this could be an opportunity to increase the country’s non-oil exports when the outbreak is over.

Mentioning the rise in the country’s non-oil exports in the recent years, Rahmani noted that in the previous calendar year, which was named the year of “pick up in production” by the Leader, despite the limitations and restrictions imposed by the U.S. sanctions, the country’s non-oil exports witnessed a significant increase.

“The volume of the country’s non-oil exports reached 169 million tons last year, 14 percent more than its preceding year,” the official said.

He went on underlining the great potentials of the country’s production sector, saying: “The record-breaking non-oil exports, the increase in the country's trade volume to $85 billion, the increase in the production of more than two-thirds of strategic commodity groups last year and the multiplication of the production of healthcare products in just one month is an indication of the country's huge production and trade capabilities.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the minister pointed to the current year which has been named “Surge in Production” by the Leader and noted that the industry ministry is assessing the previous year’s problems and challenges to come up with a more comprehensive plan to promote non-oil production and exports in the current year.

EF/MA