TEHRAN- Production of tire in Iran has risen 27 percent during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21), compared to the same period of time in the past year.

As reported by IRNA, 115,983 tons of tires have been produced during the five-month period of this year.

It terms of number, 10.232 million tires have been produced, showing a 26-percent growth year on year.

Of the mentioned figure, 62,968 tons were the passenger car tires, which shows a 28-percent rise.

Some 9,268 tons of van tires were manufactured, indicating a 13-percent growth.

Also, 21,237 tons of bus tires were manufactured, showing a 10-percent rise.

Manufacturing of the tires of light agricultural machinery experienced a growth of 123 percent to stand at 2,223 tons, and that of the heavy ones rose 42 percent to stand at 7,832 tons.

Meanwhile, 2,401 tons of road building machinery tires were manufactured, with a 17-percent growth compared to the first five months of the past year.

The bicycle tire output stood at 772 tons, indicating 80 percent growth.

Earlier last month, an official with Iran’s Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry said that increasing the amount of investment making for the production of tire in the country is a necessity.

Kamran Kargar, the acting head of planning, supplying, and market regulating office of the ministry, said the consumption of tire is noticeable in Iran due to the country’s big transportation fleet.

“Now the ground is properly prepared for the production of light and heavy vehicles tires in the country, and investment making will play a significant role both for the establishment of new production units and for launching development projects”, the official noted.

Having the annual production capacity of 426,000 tons of tire, Iran accounts for 41 percent of tire output in the West Asian region, according to the deputy director of the non-metal industries office of the Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry.

Mohsen Safdari has said that 11 tire production units are active in the country creating jobs for 14,500 people.

He said 426,000 tons is the nominal capacity, while the real output is less than this figure as some units are working with 60-70 percent of their capacity.

“Iranian tire industry is dependent on foreign raw materials by 40 percent, so we are self-reliant by 60 percent in this field”, the official announced.

In a bid to nullify the U.S. sanctions, Iran is determined to strengthen its domestic production to achieve self-reliance.

Selecting the motto of “Pickup in Production” for the previous Iranian calendar year (March 2019-March 2020), and the slogan of “Surge in Production” for the current year indicates the Islamic Republic’s determination to achieve this goal.

To this end, the Iranian ministries besides the private sector have been outlining their programs for the surge in production.

MA/MA