Secretary General of the Petrochemical Industry Employers Association Ahmad Mahdavi Abhari has predicted the petrochemical sector would inject some $15bn into the Forex Management Integrated System (locally known as NIMA) and the sector would have $17bn of exports by the year end.
Speaking in a press conference, Mahdavi said that petrochemical industry is a rewarding industry and if the country seeks sustainable economy, it should focus fully on this industry.
He went on to say that petrochemical industries in last decade used to challenge with the primary sanctions and economic war and after U.S. President Donald Trump left the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions, this industry with its exports, production and earning forex helped the national economy. He reiterated that currently the companies pre-sell their products, adding that today the world is moving towards using new technology and petrochemical products are turned into more value added and this industry today enjoys having a special stance and has considerable role in the people’s lives and this role increases more day in day.
Mahdavi said that 39.6% of the non-oil exports in the first half of the current year belong to the petrochemical sector and this industry should be developed in order to meet the Iranian calendar year 1404 targets and 140mn tons of production. He also said that currently some 17,000 people are busy and active in the downstream units of this industry, adding that the industry sells some 6 to 7 billion dollars of its products in the domestic market which are used in the complementary industries and after being converted into the final goods, they are exported.
Mahdavi admitted that the Ukraine war has also affected Iran’s petrochemical sector, adding that consequences of this war on Iran is doubled because the country is also under the sanctions, adding that while the price of gas has increased, the price of methanol in China has declined and since the country is under sanction, China takes advantage of this situation. He reiterated that petrochemical units should be helped in a way that they do not lose the market and also continue the previous route of exports because Iran can turn into the hub of methanol production of the world in the near future.
He pointed to the amount of the non-oil exports of the country in the current year which stands at $24.251bn, adding that $9.605bn of this figure belongs to the petrochemical industry. He reiterated that in the first half of last year, the amount of petrochemical products exports was $6.95bn but this year it has increased to $9.605bn and in fact the non-oil exports have not grown except in the petrochemical sector.
He stated that the amount of petrochemical production in the first seven months of last year was 38.66mn tons but the figure has increased to 41.55mn tons in the same period this year and it shows 7% growth.
