October 11-13
Although the government has acknowledged that the economy is in recession, the regime continues issuing press releases announcing rising production of steel, cement and aluminum, all key industries for the Islamic Republic.
News reports carried in state media boasted that output in those key industries grew in the first half of the current year.
Little attention, however, was given to the depressed output of the auto industry—291,638 vehicles in the first half of the year or half the output before Iran fell into its current economic state.
The new government acknowledged last month that the economy contracted 5.4 percent in the last Persian year. There is broad agreement that the recession continues.
But the media tout allegedly rising output in major industries despite the economic downturn.
Some 7.745 million tons of raw steel were produced in Iran in the first six months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMMIDRO) said. It reported that was an increase of 2 percent compared with the corresponding period last year.
The share of major state-run steel producers was 7.323 million tons, while the private sector produced 422,000 tons of steel in the same period, it said, indicating that the state dominates the industry with 95 percent of output despite boasts of privatization under the Ahmadi-nejad Administration.
In cement. Iran produced 38.356 million tons in the first half of the year, said the secretary of the Guild Association of Iran’s Cement Industry, showing a 4 percent growth compared to the corresponding period last year.
Turning to aluminum, news reports said Iran produced 180,000 tons of aluminum ingots in the first half of the year, according to IMMIDRO, which said that represented 6.6 percent growth over the same period last year.
The report said Iranian Aluminum Company, Al-Mahdi Aluminum Complex and Almahdi Hormuzal Aluminum Corporation accounted for 50 percent, 30 percent and 20 percent of the output, respectively.
One decline that has been noted in news reports is in saffron exports. Saffron is a minor but historical export for Iran. The Union of Saffron Exporters said prices have soared 60 percent this year leading to a 2 percent decline in exports in the first five months of the year to $60 million.
It was not explained why the price of Iranian saffron had soared. The collapse of the rial one year ago has led to lower prices for most industries and that has helped exports.
