Small industries have 52% of the export value of industrial cities

Deputy Minister Samet stated: According to the statistics of 1404, small industries accounted for 45% of the number of export units and 52% of the export value of the settlements.

According to Mehr reporter, Tahmourth Lahoti, Deputy Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade and CEO of Small Industries and Industrial Estates Organization of Iran, today at the Seven Days with Export event, considered the development of exports of small and medium enterprises as one of the ways to strengthen non-oil exports and said: export management companies can remove some of the obstacles to the entry of these enterprises into international markets by providing specialized services.

According to him, the creation of industrial towns and the provision of infrastructure needed by production units, although it is one of the main missions of this department, but with the expansion of towns and the increase in the number of units located in them, supporting businesses is not limited to infrastructural measures, and specialized services and development programs should also be prioritized.

The withdrawal of the number of exporters from industrial towns

Referring to the export trend of units located in industrial towns, Lahoti said: the average export of these units in the period under review was about 3 billion dollars annually.

He added: In 2016, nearly a thousand export units were identified in industrial towns, but this number reached about 600 units in 1404. Statistics that show the necessity of investigating export barriers and formulating effective programs to increase the number of exporters.

The CEO of Small Industries and Industrial Towns Organization stated that this information was compiled based on the follow-ups of the organization and the statements of the parties to the contract, and explained: Some of the production units sell their products to foreign markets through intermediaries, and for this reason, their export activity may not be recorded directly in the statistics.

According to him, therefore, it is possible that the actual number of units with export activity is more than the identified number. However, the ratio of export units to the total number of companies located in industrial cities is still limited, and increasing the participation of small and medium-sized companies in foreign trade requires targeted planning.

small industries; A share beyond the number of exporters

Referring to the position of small industries in exports, Deputy Minister Samet said: According to the statistics of 1404, these industries accounted for about 45% of the number of export units and 52% of the value of the examined exports.

Emphasizing the capacity of units with less than 50 workers, he said: Identifying companies with export capacity and providing them with a continuous presence in foreign markets can help increase the number of exporters and strengthen the country's non-oil exports.

Production standards, a condition for sustainable entry into global markets

Lahoti called one of the obstacles facing small and medium enterprises the standard gap of some products with the requirements of the target markets and said: some industrial units have not yet reached the level required to compete in foreign markets and are facing restrictions for the sustainable supply of their products.

He emphasized: supporting small businesses should not be limited to identifying export capacities, but improving the quality of products and adapting the production process to the standards of the target markets should also be at the center of support programs.

Connecting small industries with large and international employers

The CEO of the Organization of Small Industries and Industrial Towns also announced the pursuit of programs to strengthen the relationship between small and medium enterprises and large industrial complexes and said: About a month ago, in cooperation with the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, summaries were made to advance this program and activities in two specialized fields related to oil and power were on the agenda.

According to Lahoti, one of the goals of this program is to identify international employers and establish a relationship between them, large industries and small and medium enterprises so that small units can improve their technical and production capacity and achieve the required standards for cooperation with large groups and foreign employers.

He added: In addition to strengthening the export capacity of small and medium industries, the effective implementation of this program can also provide the basis for improving the quality of products and improving production standards.

Referring to the internal effects of improving standards, Lahoti stated: Requiring industrial units to comply with the criteria required by international markets for greater competitiveness can also improve the quality of goods supplied in the domestic market.

Deputy Minister Samat emphasized the necessity of identifying the export capacities of small and medium enterprises, developing specialized support and expanding the use of the services of export management companies.