Double the export fare
President of the Export Confederation of Iran: In cross-border trade, especially with the European Union, due to import restrictions and reduced imports, export freight has practically doubled; In a way, exporters also pay for the return of trucks; Because of import restrictions, they have no cargo to return.
According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, Mohammad Lahouti stated about the latest situation of the country's trade: the nine-month statistics published by the customs indicate a 20% decrease in exports and 16% in imports compared to last year; To date, total exports have been $ 24 billion and imports $ 25 billion; So the trade balance is $ 1 billion negative.
He added: "Last year and this year, the task of fulfilling the foreign exchange obligation has not been determined yet. Also, the announcement of the 177th meeting of the government's economic coordination headquarters by the vice president for economic affairs, which was approved by the president, has been announced for more than two months; But since most of its approach is import-oriented, there are ambiguities in the field of exports.
Lahouti stated: "In the meantime, despite the meetings held in the Foreign Exchange Action Committee of the Trade Development Organization and the draft of the completion of this communiqué, unfortunately, after two weeks, it has not been approved by the Article 2 Committee and imports against exports Ali Despite the emphasis on Communication 177, it can be said that it has been operational since last week.
The President of the Export Confederation of Iran also added: One thousand items of goods consisting of 700 items declared by the Ministry of Silence and 300 items declared by the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture are not approved by importers and exporters; While a production unit may need 10 items of imported goods, part of it is in the list announced by the Ministry of Silence and Jihad Agriculture and some is not; So it can not supply them through imports against exports.
Criticizing the numerous directives issued by various institutions, he said: "Several directives issued by the Central Bank, the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture, the Ministry of Silence and the Market Regulation Headquarters during the past year and a half have practically affected our foreign trade;" However, the suspension of business cards was one of the problems that prevented many exporters from even fulfilling their foreign exchange obligations.
Referring to the grievances of most exporters on National Export Day, a member of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce said: "It seems that the grievances of exporters are right, although the executive bodies also tried to resolve these issues one by one, and now the cards have been suspended and the obligation lifted." Currency is possible; However, import and export will not be allowed until the foreign exchange obligation is met; While these seem to have created a kind of uncertainty for manufacturers and exporters and caused a kind of frustration; While this year was a leap in production, the government seems to have had the least success.
"Exchange rate fluctuations have caused many importers who imported their goods in more expensive currencies to lose money," Lahouti said, referring to the problems that exchange rate depreciation could pose to exporters.
He pointed out that in cross-border trade, especially with the European Union, due to import restrictions and reduced imports, export freight has practically doubled; In a way, exporters also pay for the return of trucks; Because of the import restrictions, they do not have to return the goods and this issue has a great impact on the cost price; Therefore, with all these conditions, there is more ambiguity in the field of trade than facilitating the trade environment.
Referring to the impact of political issues on trade, the head of the Iranian Export Confederation said: "Political issues also have an impact on trade; For example, the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan affected trade for two months; On the other hand, the problems in the return of export currency and the threats that were raised in public opinion and the media at the end of Mr. Trump's term contributed to the current instability.
Lahouti added: "However, it seems that in the future, with the coming to power of the new President of the United States of America and the policies he has already announced, and on the other hand, the issue of the FATF will be raised again in the Expediency Council. The Supreme Leader has raised hopes that business conditions may improve. There may be openings in banking relationships.
He added: "If the FATF is approved, it will reduce banking transfer problems and costs, and Biden will lift the sanctions. We can use Swift again." Despite all this, a relatively better future is conceivable. Of course, all of these things together can solve the problem, and if we look at the issue optimistically, it is likely that the situation will improve.
Lahouti noted: "In the most optimistic case, the forecast for non-oil exports by the end of the year will be about $ 33 billion to $ 35 billion, which will actually have a negative growth of about 15 percent compared to last year."
The economic activist added: "Import management in the face of sanctions has led to a decrease in imports; At the same time, it should be noted that about 85% of Iran's imports are imports of intermediate goods, and the more imports decrease, the more production is affected.
Lahouti noted: If predictions and optimism come true; It seems that the government should think about the situation of exporters who are affected by the depreciation of the exchange rate. Although the depreciation of the exchange rate has a positive effect on some sectors, care must be taken not to have a negative impact on exports and production. Special support must be provided to treat the incident before it occurs.
* ILNA
