In an interview with Online News Agency, responding to the question about whether a boom in production happens in a country under the sanction, Abolfazl Roghani Golpayegani stated, "The answer is generally negative, but I would like to address two or three issues."
He added, "Nevertheless, sanctions can be an opportunity and have been an opportunity in our country in many places."
Stating that the countries like Iran which are 100 percent dependant on oil revenues are considered badly, the Head of the Industrial Commission at the Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines said, "The reason is that if you pay attention to the country's past, the import sector became extremely large and fat, and the domestic production was extremely weakened under the very poor conditions."
Roghani Golpayegani stated, "The jumps of the exchange rates as well as the sanctions, have contributed to production very effectively in some places, and we cannot fool ourselves by rejecting it."
He noted by bringing an example, "Although we are dependent in the household sector, we have grown rapidly in the other sector which was less dependent on imports. The growth in the food industry was very good, and we had very good growth in the industries like steel, copper, cement and the mining sector."
The Head of the Industrial Commission at the Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines stated, "Of course, we have faced problem in the industries like automobile sector which is severely dependent on imports." And he added, "We can produce almost 5.1 million vehicles, but this figure decreases drastically during sanctions and has reached less than 700 or 800 thousand vehicles."
Roghani Golpayegani added, "We do not have a clear policy. If we intend to have a non-oil- dependent economy, the country's conditions should be determined and planned in a different way, and if we intend to have an economy based on oil revenues, we also have to behave differently."
Stating that the sanctions are both a threat and an opportunity, he reiterated, "The sanctions have created more opportunities for the country in some areas which certainly have had a wide range. Most industries have currently come into a period with good conditions. For instance, Iran Aluminum Co., despite its strong dependence on imported raw materials, has made huge profit for the first time due to the sanctions and the increase in Dollar exchange rates."
Stating that the sanctions can provide the basis for the country to pursue growth, the Head of the Industrial Commission at the Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines said, "The requirement for the production boom is to create infrastructure which should be absolutely paid attention to."
Roghani Golpayegani stressed, "At present, the domestic sanctions have made most of the domestic industries face problems more, which we should pay attention to."