TEHRAN, Iran, Sep. 6
Trend:
Iran could import basic materials and parts needed for its home appliance' industries by using its blocked assets in South Korea and Japan, the secretary-general of the Iranian Home Appliance Industry Association told Trend in an interview.
The US Treasury has allowed Iran's blocked assets in South Korea and Japan to be used for the import of non-sanctioned items, Abbas Hashemi noted.
He added that Iran's strategy is to import basic materials and parts needed for home appliance production instead of importing finished products in this field.
"The association has requested the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade to import basic material and parts for home appliance's production such as refrigerator compressor, washing machine motor drain pump and other items that are needed in domestic production like laminate sheets," Hashemi said.
"It depends on Iran's strategy whether there would be conditions for having a transaction with foreign brands that have left the country during sanction or a timetable. These conditions could be their direct investment or joint investment in Iran's home appliance industries or production of certain parts in the country," he said referring to the conditions for the return of foreign home appliance brands to Iran after the possible lifting of sanctions.
Hashemi noted that if the path for the return of foreign brands to Iran is open, it is possible that finished products would be imported to the country and domestic production would be damaged.
"Foreign brands spend a considerable amount for advertisement which domestic brands could not afford while culturally, people are interested in using foreign brands," he stated.
The official has noted that there should be priorities and liberalization for imports of basic materials and parts that are not domestically produced in the country and defining foreign investment policy.
He has noted the necessity of investment in Iran's home appliance industries, saying foreign investment is the criteria for development and improvement of businesses in countries such as Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt, and the quality of domestic products would improve by an increase in investment.
The office of supporting foreign investments in the Ministry of Economic Affairs was formed in this regard and predicted an annual attraction of $50 billion foreign investment but it has only achieved $5 billion of the target plan.
He emphasized that foreign investors should not be prevented and there should be incentive policies for investors and support those that invest in home appliance parts that are not domestically produced.
Iran’s export of home appliances has reached $54 million during the first two months of the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2021) which is an increase of 34 percent compared to the same period last year (started March 20, 2020).