Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 3
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
Iran produced over 167.843 million square metres of tiles and ceramics in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year which started March 21.
The amount shows a 2.9 per cent increase compared to the same period of the previous year, the IRNA News Agency reported on December 3.
Output hit 26 million square metres in the seventh calendar month of the current year (September 23 - October 22).
Former Director of Trade Promotion Organisation of Iran Hamid Safdel said in June that Iran is the world's seventh biggest tiles and ceramics exporter.
Iran's is currently the world's fourth biggest tiles and ceramics producer, the IRNA News Agency quoted Safdel as saying.
Iran's tiles and ceramics output stood at 455 million square metres in the previous Iranian calendar year which ended March 20. The amount shows a 37 per cent increase compared to its preceding year, he said.
Safdel expressed the hope the amount would rise to 655 million square metres by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2014).
Safdel put the world's total tiles and ceramics production at 11 billion cubic metres.
Iran exported over 500 billion dollars' worth of tiles and ceramics in the previous year, he added.
According to the Head of the Tile Producers and Sellers Union, Mohammad Roshanfekr, Iran exported 90 million cubic metres of tiles and ceramics in the previous year.
He expressed the hope that the amount would increase to 120 million cubic metres by the end of current calendar year.
Neighbouring states, as well as African and central Asian countries are the main destinations for Iranian-made tiles and ceramics.