Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran's textile industry has also been affected by the sanctions imposed against the country over its nuclear program.

Secretary of the association of the Iranian textile industry, Alireza Haeri, said recently Iranian textile industry is struggling with severe shortage of liquidity, ISNA news agency reported.

Haeri said the national textile industry has been grappling with liquidity deficit after the international sanctions hit the country's banking system.

He also said each textile unit should boost its liquidity by 13 folds in order to be able to continue operation.

Based on the published reports, more than 9,770 industrial units are working in different fields in this regard including textile, clothing, leather and shoes.

Carpet, shoes, and leather products are among Iran's major exported items in the textile field.

On the other hand, the director general of Industry, Mine and Trade Ministry 's Weaving and Textile Industries Department, Ne'matollah Mardani, announced in November that Iran's textile exports rose by 13 percent in the first half of the current Iranian calendar (which started on March 21) compared to the same period in the last year.

Mardani mentioned that the private sector holds over 95 percent of textile units.

He further said the textile industry accounts for 5 percent of investment-making, 11 percent of production units and 12 percent of job creation in the national industry.

Besides, Iran forecasts harvesting some 200,000 tons of unrefined cotton in the current calendar year

Hassan Hosseinpour, an official with Iran's Ministry of Agriculture said earlier about 100,000 hectares area of lands across the country is under cultivation of cotton.

He said it is expected that 65,000 tons of refined cotton will be produced this year, adding that the national textile industry is suffering from shortage of refined cotton.

Hosseinpour said the country needs 120,000 tons of cotton per year, but just 50 percent of the figure is met domestically.

Iran exported $1.2 billion worth of textile products in the past Iranian calendar year.

Iranian industry ministry official Mehdi Eslampanah said last year the regional countries as well as the South America are the main targets for Iranian textile products.

Textile mills, based on domestic cotton and wool such as Tehran Patou and Iran Termeh, among others, employed about 400,000 people in 2000 and are centered in Tehran, Isfahan and along the Caspian coast. Iran, with a population of over 76 million, requires 1.4 billion square meters of textiles annually.