The Secretary General of the Iranian Household Appliance Manufacturers Association reports that approximately two billion dollars’ worth of contraband goods have been sold in the country this year, accounting for nearly one-third of the total market volume, which stands at seven billion dollars annually.
On Saturday, March 16, Omid Fazelinia also disclosed that the country’s household appliance exports amounted to 400 million dollars, equivalent to one-fifth of the smuggled appliances entering the country.
Although the Iranian regime has prohibited the import of household appliances since 2018, numerous reports have highlighted Iranian citizens’ reluctance to purchase domestically manufactured products due to their perceived low quality and high prices.
Experts in the field attribute the stagnation in the home appliance market to the regime’s alleged negligence in combating smuggling activities and lack of support for domestic production. The average foreign currency allocation remained consistent in 2023 compared to 2021.
In 2023, raw materials for the industry were not procured through the stock exchange, forcing producers to obtain 30-50% of the raw materials from the market, resulting in a 50% increase in material costs.
Previously, South Korean companies such as Samsung and LG dominated Iran’s home appliance market. The stagnant nature of the market is evident in the unchanged export figures of these appliances in recent years, attributed to their perceived low quality. These exports are valued at around 400 million dollars, with a significant portion destined for Afghanistan and Iraq.
Meanwhile, Turkey, Iran’s neighbor, leverages advanced technology and licenses from leading Western companies to annually surpass Iran’s entire household appliance production in exports, valued at 6 billion dollars. Turkey also holds the title of the largest exporter of household appliances to Europe, with approximately 600,000 Turkish citizens employed in these industries, doubling the number of Iranian workers in the household appliance sector.
