Iran lifts ban on exports of petrochemicals
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has lifted a ban on the export of petrochemicals and issued an order detailing new regulations for petrochemical exports, ISNA quoted Deputy Oil Minister Abdolhossein Bayat as saying on Tuesday.
Previously, IRNA quoted Iranian Organization for Supporting Consumers and Producers announced that the administration has banned the export of petrochemical products, including polymers, as a measure to "support national production".
The list, which included polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and PET, was part of the 50 industrial and agricultural products restricted for export sales.
The U.S. and Europe recently stepped up sanctions against Iran in an attempt to curb its nuclear program. The West accuses the Islamic Republic of trying to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran says generating electricity is the sole aim of its nuclear program.
On September 29, Bayat said Iran exported roughly $6 billion worth of petrochemical exports in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20.
Bayat added that the figure is projected to exceed $15 billion by the end of the Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2013.
Last year, Iran exported 16.2 million tons of petrochemical products to 60 countries around the world.
Europe and China were the main recipients of Iran's petrochemical exports, followed by Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Subcontinent, Africa and Latin America.