Iran exports 20 million USD tiles, ceramics to Pakistan in 8 months

TEHRAN, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran exported 8.5 million square meters of tiles and ceramics worth 20 million U.S. dollars to Pakistan during the eight months to Nov. 21, Financial Tribune daily reported on Saturday.

According to Iran's commercial attache to Pakistan, Morad Nemati Zargaran, the export value will reach 30 million U.S. dollars by the end of current fiscal year (March 20, 2018), the report said.

If the target value is implemented, Iran's tiles and ceramics exports to Pakistan will register a 50 growth by the end of this year compared to 12 months period last year, Nemati Zargaran said.

"Tiles and ceramics are Iran's second most exported commodity to Pakistan after bitumen and oil," he added.

Iran's last year exports of tiles and ceramics to the neighboring country stood at 22 million U.S. dollars.

Pakistan's demand for tiles and ceramics stands at 100 million square meters per year, of which only 20 million square meters are produced domestically, said Nemati Zargaran.

Exports to Pakistan come as Iran's ceramics and tiles industry is hit by recession.

In February, more than 150 million square meters of tiles and ceramics in excess of demand were piled up in warehouses across the country, Chairman of Iran Ceramic Producers Syndicate Behnam Aziz-Zadeh was quoted as saying.

"Local producers are operating at less than half their production capacity," Aziz-Zadeh said.

According to the official, the two main factors causing the market recession include the ongoing stagnation in the construction sector as well as the ceramic and tile industry's overproduction due to unrestrained issuance of factory licenses during the 1990s. Enditem