Iran’s terrorist Quds force affiliated news agency, “Tasnim” cited the President of Stone Association of Iran on Sept. 14, saying: “Selling crude materials is one of the problems of Iran’s stone industry which like a pest is threatening its life and puts our valuable assets in this section at the disposal of other countries, with the least benefit and the most trouble.”
Shafiei added: “At the moment, the prime cost of our products is high and that is one of the factors which is preventing Iran from having a successful participation in the global markets.”
While comparing Iran to other stone-exporting countries, Shafiei pointed to the plight of the stone industry in Iran and said:” Stone exporters in many countries are enjoying a 100 percent tax exemption while Iranian stone exporters are subject to 80 percent tax. In this regard, necessary measures should be taken to support stone exporters.”
He pointed to the disintegrated economy under Rouhani’s government and added: “Unfortunately, despite Iran’s high potential in producing decorative stones, we are witnessing that decorative and building stones are being imported from countries such as Turkey and China which is a serious threat to Iran’s stone market.”
Shafiei concluded by giving some statistics on Iran’s stone industry. He said: “With 1950 mines and 6000 stone cutting units, Iran’s stone exports amount to $180 million. Besides, the total amount of Iran’s stone production has been 14 million tons, four percent of which, namely 516 thousand tons, have been exported.”
