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Minister of Commerce: Iran should join the World Trade
Organization.
Burdensome formalities should be
eliminated as a top-priority measure.
The Third Development Plan will
thoroughly address expansion and export of services, promotion of tourism, extension of
transit trade, re-exports, foreign transport and engineering services.
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A seminar on the
review of export policies in the third Economic, Social, and Cultural Development Plan was
recently inaugurated at the Exports Promotion Center of Iran (EPCI) headquarters, attended
by the ministers of Commerce and Trade, and the president of the Iran Chamber of Commerce,
Industries and Mines (ICCIM).
"In order to achieve social and economic development, it is evident that careful
attention to the finalization of strategies must be payed," said Minister of
Commerce, Mohammad Shariatmadari.
"Any plan that merits expert debates and is drawn up on the basis of the country's
potentials and facilities, and provides clear vistas for the decision-makers, will have
more chances of success," he said.
All the countries that are leaders in global trade, or have attained expertise in the
export of goods and services, have certainly adjusted their economic or trade strategies
within long-term plans, he added.
"Countries like China and Malaysia have clearly designed their prospects until the
year 2020," said Mr. Shariatmadari.
The official cited the exchange of opinion among experts on economic and commercial
matters as the main agenda of the seminar, adding that the measure is aimed at helping the
efforts to determine goals and strategies for the 2000-2004 period.
"Statistics show that the first Development Plan has achieved 66 percent of its
targets in the field of exports. Some areas, such as the industry sector have failed to
manifest themselves, mainly due to structural deficiencies, non-competitive products,
heavy reliance on raw material imports, and the failure to fulfil some points of the
plan," he added.
"The second plan envisaged growth in the economic, social and cultural arenas. During
the five-year period, the state earned 27.6 billion dollars in non-oil exports," he
said adding "9.3 billion dollars worth of exports were registered in the first three
years of the plan."
Yet, he forecasted the figure would reach 12.3 billion dollars by the end of the plan, a
stage that will meeting 57 percent of the targets.
Mr. Shariatmadari outlined the main glitches in the fulfillment of the plan, as follows:
- Disparity between monetary, financial and fiscal policies,
and commercial strategies.
- Over-emphasis on the domestic consumer's interests.
- Growing imports against frozen exports.
- Failure to win membership in international trade
organizations, and derive profits from their potentials.
- Failure to attract foreign investments towards export
infrastructures, and to remove the financial burdens plaguing manufacturing units via
bilateral deals.
- Illegal outlets, such as smuggling, for the export of
goods, and flow of foreign exchange to Central Asia.
- Flow of low-quality goods into the international markets.
- State punishments of illegal export activity, an issue
which has sparked sporadic rows between exporters and the penalizing body.
- Instability of political relations with other countries,
followed by a plunge in bilateral transactions.
- Continuous surge in expenses of producing units,
especially during the current year.
- Persistent stagnation in the industrial countries that
have been Iran's major clients of industrial goods.
- The Asian financial crisis which was the worst in the 20th
century.
- Lack of applying new techniques and experiences in
marketing.
- Uncertainty over the government's relative priorities.
- Ailing export structures of the private sector.
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The Minister went on to say that one of the leading goals
of the third Development Plan was to boost Iran's share of international trade.
"Against a backdrop of major overhauls in many countries grabbing for a larger share
of global transactions, Iran's share of international trade has plunged to a scant 0.3
percent, compared with 1.69 percent 20 years ago," he regretted.
Mr. Shariatmadari noted that although Iran's export system has undergone reforms, and
industrial and petrochemical products account for an unthinkable 52 percent of exports,
the three billion dollars of exports are confessedly humiliating for a large country such
as Iran, which possesses huge potentials in its other sectors, cheap workforce, excellent
transit conditions, and unique geographical conditions.
"There is no doubt that without making products competitive, without acquiring
advanced technology, and without innovative methods and modern management, we will not be
able to demonstrate our presence in the international trade arena," he contended.
He urged the country's economic planners to adopt swift measures to boost exports and
create relative priorities for the expansion of non-oil exports.
"Make the work force efficient, improve exported goods, make prices competitive,
diversify products and heed research schemes. These are the main areas which need to be
seriously addressed," the Commerce Minister counseled.
Meanwhile, structural steps should be taken to inject new money into production, and
guarantee capital return to woo foreign entrepreneurs to invest on exports.
"It is necessary in this respect to liberalize exports, lift any ban, and adopt
protective policies during the third Development Plan," he added.
Along with these efforts, the government should keep up with its policy of détente, and
expansion of relations with all, but the hostile governments.
"We have to strive and open up new foreign markets, preserve the present ones, and
move towards becoming a member of the World Trade Organization."
The agriculture sector, using traditional methods, will fail to bear fruit for exports in
the long run. "Most of the agricultural products are exportable only after processing
at industrial plants," he asserted.
Obviously, expansion of the industry sector, especially processing factories and packaging
units, is inevitable for the growth of agricultural exports.
Chief among the policies envisaged in the Third Development Plan are continued supervisory
methods to insure high quality products are exported, encouragement of producers to live
up to international standards, ban on exports of poor-quality goods, and the elevation of
technical knowledge in the relevant bodies, checking quality standards.
"The Third Development Plan attaches great importance to the expansion and export of
services, promotion of tourism, extension of transit trade, re-exports, foreign transport
and engineering services, as key concepts, which in the modern world stand way above
exports," said the minister.
Minister of Industries Gholamreza Shafei was another key speaker at the conference.
The minister described the existing potentials in the industry sector as a sought-after
lever to push forward the objectives of the third Development Plan.
"The Third Plan should draw on industrial investments, and the monetary and foreign
exchange regulations should be adjusted in a way to insure a boost in the production and
export of industrial goods," he said.
Another speaker at the seminar President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and
Mines (ICCIM) Ali Naqi Khamoushi who said: "In order to expand exports, all economic
sectors should place exports top on their agenda."
Mr. Khamoushi added "Elimination of burdensome regulations will enhance the state's
manufacturing output within the next ten years to a level which we have all been aspiring
for." |
