According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, in Iranian history and civilization, there are many works and documents of huge columns and large stone arches, which show the art and skill of the predecessors in the skillful use of stone in the construction of buildings and statues. Existence of rich and fruitful reserves of decorative stones in Iran is also a blessing that should be used properly and effectively in the economic field.

There are eight thousand and eight hundred mines of non-ferrous metals, industrial soils and facade and construction stones in the country, of which one thousand nine hundred are in the field of decorative stones. According to IRNA, having decorative stones is the economic advantage of Mahallat city of Markazi province. It lies in marketing and marketing; But now there are bottlenecks in the export of this mineral product, which as the Achilles heel of this field has diminished its effectiveness in revenue generation and economy.

The largest travertine deposits in the Middle East are located in Mahallat city of Markazi province. This city, as the center of stone production, produces 50% of the total travertine mineral in Iran. Optimal capacity of Mahallat city in the production of marble, porcelain, crystal, tranix and tramite (raw stone and travertine) building stones has been able to place Iran in the ninth place in the production of decorative stone among the eighteen countries producing travertine.

The known capacity of the country's mines is estimated at forty-seven billion tons, of which four billion tons are related to decorative stone reserves. The actual consumption of stone in the country is seven and a half million tons due to the construction ups and downs and the extraction capacity of this mineral is more than twenty-five million tons annually.

Existence of rich reserves of stone facade and decoration has made Iran one of the top four producers of stone in the world. Due to the strategic position of Iran, there is a privileged situation for this valuable mineral product in the target markets of the region, which should be used properly in the shadow of the targeted program. A look at the situation of strong competitors in the export of raw and processed stone such as Turkey, India, Italy and China shows that despite the long history and pioneering title in this field, our country is facing problems due to crude sales in the field of stone industry.

Improper export of raw stone

Activists in the stone industry believe that the uncontrolled export of raw stone is the biggest obstacle to the quantitative and qualitative growth of this mineral field. The growing trend of extraction and production costs in this field, such as increasing workers' wages and the cost of customs services and high bank interest rates along with sanctions, are among the important factors slowing down the growth of stone exports in the country. They believe that inadequate methods of extracting decorative stone and not providing adequate training to workers in this mining sector have led to a failure in quality and exports, and until this problem is resolved, economic growth in the field of decorative stone can not be seen.

Stone industry activists believe that marketing in this area requires skinning, and the growth of crude stone exports is a proof of this claim. Perhaps one of the main reasons is that exporters are increasingly looking for easy-to-enter markets to offer their goods with less effort; Even if it means a lower profit margin for them.

Weak technical knowledge and training

The secretary of the Iranian Stone Association stated: The country's stone industry is facing problems in engineering design, supply of appropriate machinery, management and training.

Ahmad Sharifi added: "One thousand mining units out of the total two thousand existing units in the country are closed due to problems in the sales market, the imposition of government rights and the conflict with the accumulated losses."

"The stone industry chain is key to the mine," he said. There are 2,000 industrial units in the field of stone with a capacity of 27 million tons in the country, the global value of which exceeds three billion dollars.

The secretary of the Iranian Stone Association continued: "Despite the country's ability in the field of mineral ore reserves, it is possible to produce up to seven billion dollars in wealth by processing this product;" But with a capacity of 27 million tons of active stone industries, only ten million tons of stone are now produced in the country.

Sharifi said: "Six million tons of processed stone are exported annually in the country, which, taking into account one million tons of export blocks of crude stone and coupe, brings the total number of Iranian stone exports to seven million tons."

He considered this amount of export as insignificant due to the high capability of the country in the national stone capital and added: there are six thousand processing units in the country that have a potential production and export capacity of five hundred units and one hundred and fifty units are exports.

The secretary of the Iranian Stone Association stated: The amount of investment in each stone mine is estimated at seven billion rials, while the initial equipment of a stone mine requires forty billion rials.

Stone marketing depends on the builder

The head of the Mining Commission of the Iranian Stone Association believes that the decrease in the amount of construction is one of the reasons for the weakening of the stone market.

Aziz Mirzaeian stated: The stagnation of the domestic consumer market, the lack of liquidity and the prolongation of the return on investment cycle have caused problems for the stone industry.

He added: "Only ten percent of the country's stone processing units are operating in a modern way, and the products of this small sector, if their production is accompanied by a specific strategy and planning, will strengthen the competitive advantage to participate in global markets."

The head of the Mining Commission of the Iranian Stone Association stated: Reforming the processing units and injecting modern technology in order to increase the quality level of products and reduce costs is necessary to be present in the international arena of stone industry.

Mirzaeian emphasized: The prosperity of the stone industry requires expertise, allocation of financial resources, foreign marketing for products and a strong presence in international exhibitions.

Three hundred stone units, an important advantage for Markazi province

The central governor stated: mere processing in the stone industry will not be a factor of economic prosperity in this field; Because Italy, which is smaller than Iran, exports raw stone.

Ali Aghazadeh stated: There are three hundred stone factories in Mahallat city, but more than half of these units are not in good condition and should be given special support for growth.

He expressed the root of the problems of stone units in the recession of the construction industry, lack of attention and effective activity in the export-oriented market.

The central governor stated: Our country's share in world stone trade should increase; Because this industry can replace other export products of the country, including oil, and create currency.

Aghazadeh emphasized: Activists and organizations in the field of stone should pay attention to marketing and facilitation in the export route because Iran is among the top producers of stone in the world; But he could not find his place well.

Referring to the activities of the Provincial Mines Council, he said: "This institution, with its powers, can give double prosperity to the stone field."

The central governor said: this province is among the global brands in stone and its sub-industries and Mahallat and Nimvar cities are unique due to their travertine stone.

Complete the stone production cycle

The people's representative of Mahallat and Delijan in the Islamic Consultative Assembly stated: Incomplete stone production cycle, weakness in exports and high production costs are the most important problems of stone production in the country that should be addressed thanks to the purposeful cooperation of the government and the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Alireza Salimi added: "The technical knowledge used in Iran's stone processing units needs peeling and this defect should be eliminated by paying cheap facilities."

He continued: "Eighty percent of the country's stone products are consumed domestically, and a change in attitude is necessary to capture international markets."

The representative of the people of Mahallat and Delijan in the House of Nation continued: the active cooperation of the economic field of the embassies will cause the dynamics of exports and the acquisition of a share of the world markets.

He added: "Economic experts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies should convey world information and market needs to the country's stone industry activists and define the consumer market in accordance with world needs in order to strengthen exports."

Salimi stated: Granting facilities with high interest rates to miners and processing units will prevent the supply of paving stones at a reasonable price and reduce competitiveness.