Tehran, Iran, November 25
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
It appears that the unbridled smuggling of goods into Iran is posing serious threat to foreign companies that are present in the Iranian market, including the biggest brands available.
“Our number one rival is smuggled goods, with which we have not managed to compete,” Mohammadian, an official with Panasonic’s Iran agent told Trend November 25.
“They come into the country via special venues that they have. They are sold at lower prices that we sell, because they do not pay tariffs and do not go through the needed legal procedures,” he said.
This is while Panasonic is one of the most favorite brands of home appliance and electronic devices in Iran.
The company’s products were present in the Iranian market before the 1979 revolution, according to Mohammadian, under the name National and Iran National (built in a factory inside Iran under the Japanese headquarters).
Back in May, the Iranian central task force for combating smuggling of commodities and currency said that about $12 billion worth of goods were smuggled into the country over the previous fiscal year.