The monopoly of production has made us lazy
Our main export targets are two neighboring countries, Iraq and Afghanistan; Countries that do not have much to say in terms of industry and technology, and most of its people do not have high financial capacity to buy goods; Therefore, the quality of products currently available in these countries is not the primary criterion for choosing a product, and usually the right price is of paramount importance.
According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, there is no doubt that quality is one of the most important issues in the field of export and the promotion of this component has a very important role in finding export goods to global markets; But when it comes to exports in our country, we must pay attention to how much of the total exports we are talking about, and we can be effective in increasing the percentage of the country's exports.
At present, according to customs statistics and the Trade Development Organization, more than fifty-five percent of our country's exports are gas, condensate, petroleum and petrochemical products, about twenty-two percent of our exports are minerals, and cement and agricultural products and Pistachios and saffron are mainly in the next ranks. What is said about the quality of industrial export products is mostly focused on the remaining percentage.
Apart from the issue of the type of products, the countries importing Iranian goods and their position in the world trade are also very important in addressing the quality component. Our main export targets are two neighboring countries, Iraq and Afghanistan; Countries that do not have much to say in terms of industry and technology, and most of its people do not have high financial capacity to buy goods; Therefore, the quality of products currently available in these countries is not the primary criterion for choosing a product, and usually the right price is of paramount importance.
Incidentally, from this point of view, it can be said that the presence of Iranian goods in these countries and the lack of serious commercial competitors in them has made our producers lazy and our products poor quality. Our current exports to these countries are about fifteen billion dollars, about half of which are related to consumer goods. Perhaps it can be said that the success of Iranian goods in these markets is due to the low financial capacity of the people of these countries, otherwise in these markets, when people's recognition and purchasing power increase, we will see that people pay more attention to quality and sell goods in Those markets also become difficult for the Iranian producer.
In this case, we may see that goods produced in other countries, such as Turkey, which have had significant activities in improving the quality of their goods over the years, are replacing our country's products in these markets.
From another perspective, one of the major reasons for the lack of promotion of Iranian products in global markets is the high wall of import tariffs. Over the years, we have built a high wall around the country under the pretext of supporting domestic production, and we have caused our products to dominate the market exclusively without a strong foreign competitor, and thus our production has not learned to compete in these years. In fact, if our products were able to compete with their foreign counterparts, they would not be so worried about imports. Perhaps, if we look more closely, industries such as sweets and chocolate have been able to have products that can be offered to the markets of other countries during these years. Production is considered strong and up-to-date when in the first place in its own country it can compete with the products of other countries, and if not, in international markets for which there is no support, there will be no chance for it to compete and succeed. In any case, quality is a very important issue in the field of international trade and sustainable exports, and if our country wants to continue its activities in this field and have a market to sell its products, it must pay attention to it and produce products with Consider producing top international standards and exporting to other countries.
Majid Reza Hariri - Activist and economic expert - Samat
