Tehran, Dec 27, IRNA-Iranian non-oil exports are expected to surpass 8.5 billion dollars in value by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2006).

Deputy Commerce Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari told IRNA here Tuesday the volume of goods exported in the current year shows a 24 percent boost compared to the figure released in the previous year.

He said some six billion dollars of non-oil commodities have been exported to different countries since the start of this year.

Ghazanfari, who also heads the Iran Trade Development Organization, cited the increased investment in production facilities as the most important factor behind the increase in non-oil exports and urged the government to provide more facilities for exports.

He stressed the private sector's role in increasing investment in production and exports, saying, "To strengthen the infrastructure of non-oil exports, the idea that it is the government's duty to provide the necessary capital should be removed."

Ghazanfari noted that agricultural and industrial goods have high export value and enjoy competitive advantages and called for a revision in the infrastructure that services exports in order to boost this activity.

He said joint ventures between the government and the private sectors of provinces can lead to higher production and income from non-oil exports.

The official further called for incentives to boost private sector participation and investments in order to further raise the country's volume of non-oil exports in the future.

... Payvand News - 12/27/05 ... --