According to the International Stone Exhibition of Iran, Iran is known among the richest countries in the world for its mineral resources and resources and has huge and valuable reserves in the field of construction and decorative stones including travertine. With more than a thousand mines and six thousand stone processing plants in the country, Iran's stone industry still has a small share of the world stone market, which needs to be a good platform for introducing domestic stone products to domestic and foreign markets.

Mahalat city has huge stone mines in a way that is known as the capital of stone production and extraction of Iran. Sixty percent of the country's travertine reserves are in the city, and 12 percent of the world's travertine reserves are in Mahallat.

The 10th International Exhibition of Iranian Building Stone is being held in Nimar, a suburb of Markazi province, and is considered the most important economic event in the region. The name of some of the stone quarries of Mahallat city is known in the world and its stones are of unique quality.

Mining and stone processing industries in Mahallat city have a say in the economy of the region and bring prosperity and in addition to employment at the city level, it generates significant revenues through export of this stone to the country.

The existence of more than 70 active ore mines and 200 or 80 stone processing units is considered as a strong potential in this area, but in recent years due to the market downturn and reduced construction and construction activities and the crude and crude export and export problem. , The industry has faced serious concerns.

Taxes and lack of government support have fueled the problems of the stone industry

One of the activists of the stone sector in Mahalat city and member of Iranian Stone Association stated: Among the problems of the stone industry of the country there is a high tax and value added that due to the market downturn and the problem of selling the stone, it raised the price of the finished stone and made it difficult for the producer. Created.

Another problem in the industry is the lack of government support for long-term loans, discounts and tax debt split, which has had a negative impact on stone exports, Abutalebi said.

He pointed out that producers can not only succeed in exporting the stone, but can work together to meet the needs of the foreign market and create value and value for the country. .

The stone sector activist and member of the Iranian Stone Association added: Identifying global markets and applicants can increase export capacity and exclude stone industry producers from the current situation.

If the government provides the facility for producers to upgrade their stone processing machinery, Abutalebi said in less than five years, there could be a return on investment and increased productivity in the stone industry.

He added: Paying facilities to stone mills to update processing machinery and eliminate cumbersome export laws could activate these potentials.

Stone activists have to sell raw materials in the current situation

"With support to production, we can create the conditions for added value, but we have to keep selling raw materials to prevent the loss of rock reserves," said a consultant from the Iranian Mining Engineering Organization.

Aziz Mirzaeian said: Unfortunately, in recent years we have not been successful in the field of mineral processing due to lack of investment in the field, on the one hand the private sector has failed to enter the processing and on the other hand the public sector has failed to raise the necessary funds. For this section.

He said: "We should avoid crude sales as much as possible and create more value for the country's stone industry, because crude cannot be useful to us and has no added value."

Iran Mining Engineering consultant pointed out: Until we can provide the necessary investments in the field of stone, we cannot expect this field to go out of stagnation, every field needs investment to grow, on the other hand The grocery store also can't get anywhere.

Mirzaiian continued: The lack of investment security in the stone industry due to the contradictory laws, partisanship and etc. arose and tax law reform, financing, financing machinery and equipment up to date and elimination of investment and customs barriers, in This relationship greatly reduces the problems.

He emphasized: Iranian stone industry activists should provide conditions to work together and support the public sector to develop exports and increase investment in the field, the private sector should create a comprehensive organization of stone activists, formulate appropriate implementation plans And ongoing communication with the country's Mining Engineering Organization to move forward in advancing technical knowledge to expand its stone industry and expand its exports.

The high cost of stone production in the country has driven foreign markets

The head of the Iranian Stone Association pointed out the problems of the stone industry and the export of this field: In all countries of the world, the export sector is tax-exempt, but in our country 80% of exporters are subject to taxation, which should be revised.

Abolqasim Shafi'i said that some laws in the country have caused various problems for the development of the stone industry, saying that the existence of these cumbersome laws has reduced the export of 900,000 tonnes of stone in the country to five hundred and fifty thousand tons. There must be a solution to this problem.

He noted: In our neighboring countries, such as the UAE and Qatar, which have a large stone consumption market, the share of stone imports from Italy, Spain and China is ninety-seven percent and our share is only about three percent.

The head of the Iranian Stone Association also mentioned the price of two times the price of Iranian travertine in world markets. He added that this expensive market not only fails in export, but also the domestic stone consumption market is in the hands of Turkey and Italy.

Shafiei continued: Factories that are linked to exports may not have a major impact on their jobs, but those that have only satisfied the domestic market have been severely affected.

He added: In addition to the high prices, the quality of stone processing in the country is not in line with international standards and in terms of stone, thickness, polish and sub is not required standards, on the other hand the expertise of stone processing workers is low.

The head of the Iranian Stone Association added: Of the country's 144 million tonnes of stone production, the share of exported stone is 166,000 tonnes, which accounts for only about four percent of total production, on the other hand, the country's stone waste is more than 60 percent.

Shafiei said: Currently the import duty on stone is 100 percent; these high import duty keeps the country's stone industry alive and if removed, all stakeholders in the field will eat, so production quality and productivity should increase. Data and seek to attract foreign markets. The boom in stone exports can be highly valued for the country, so government support for renovating and updating manufacturing plants and machinery for stone processing and establishing export facilities can contribute to overseas markets in addition to reducing market stagnation and increasing employment. Increase. Of course, increasing the quality of production and lowering the cost of finished stone is also helpful in this regard.