Iran'S Annual Clothing Export Volume Exceeds 110 Million US Dollars

According to the financial Tribune on July 25, Iran exported 113 million US dollars worth of clothing in 2020-2021 fiscal year, an increase of 91.5% compared with the previous fiscal year of 59 million US dollars, and the output increased by 25% year-on-year, the financial Tribune reported on July 25. Iraq, Afghanistan, Central Asian countries and Gulf states are the main export destinations.

According to Nami, vice chairman of the Iranian textile and garment production and export alliance, Iran's domestic demand for clothing is 510000 tons, with an annual output of 385000 tons. The industry's turnover cannot be accurately calculated due to exchange rate fluctuations and changes in Iranian household spending, but is estimated to be between $6 billion and $8 billion a year.

In 2018, in order to improve and manage the clothing market, Iran banned the import of clothing products, and smuggling is the biggest challenge currently facing the industry. The head office of Iran's crackdown on smuggled goods and foreign exchange estimated that the annual value of clothing smuggling was about 600 million US dollars. After the strengthening of the crackdown, the proportion of smuggled clothing in the domestic market has decreased from 90% to 20%. 80% of the clothing demand can be met through local production. However, the head of the textile and clothing production and export alliance believes that due to inaccurate tracking and testing of smuggled goods in the market, he believes that 1.8-2.5 billion US dollars of smuggled clothing enter Iran every year. The rising prices of raw materials and the devaluation of the Iranian Riyal against the US dollar have made Iranian customers more willing to buy relatively cheap smuggled clothing.

(source: Embassy economy in the Islamic Republic of Iran)