Annual exports of Iranian cooperatives top $1.5b: Deputy minister
Non-oil goods worth over $1.5 billion were exported by the cooperative sector during the past Iranian year (ended March 20), announced deputy minister of cooperatives, labor, and social welfare.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Mehdi Maskani said his ministry had targeted $1.8 billion of exports by Iranian cooperatives for the current Iranian year.
There are 101,000 cooperatives active across the country, noted the official, adding that smartening and boosting efficiency are among the important services of the cooperative sector of Iran.
“Connecting to the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) system, holding the assemblies of cooperativities electronically in 31 provinces of the country, the meeting of the Minister of Labor Solat Mortazavi with the experts of the cooperative sector are among the plans that will be carried out during the National Cooperative Week,” Maskani said.
The deputy minister also announced that the Supreme Cooperative Council will be held after many years with the presence of President Ebrahim Raeisi in the near
future.
A significant part of women’s cooperatives are active in the field of handicrafts and carpets, he said, noting that his ministry will play a greater role boosting cooperatives which are active in this field.
In the event, Mohammad Sheikh Hosseini, CEO of the Tose’e Ta’avon Bank and Alborz Mohammadi, CEO of Cooperative Investment Guarantee Fund explained their activities on cooperative affairs as two main subsidiaries of the Iranian Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare.