Page 51 - IRANRptMar21

9.1.9​ Retail sector news
Iran’s clothing sales fall “to almost zero” amid retailers’ virus woes
The head of Iran’s Association of Clothing Manufacturers has said clothing sales in the country have fallen “to almost zero” amid coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, according to ILNA.
Tehan’s Grand Bazaar, stores across Iran and production workshops in the country have since the spring been forced to close for extended periods, decimating the domestic clothing manufacturing and retailing sectors, Abolghasem Agahhossein Shirazi was quoted as saying. Iran’s clothing industry remains traditionally based on in-store shopping unlike in the West where many consumers now prefer to shop online.
"Sales of clothing are down to almost zero compared to last year when the market was booming and Iranian production was stable. Unfortunately the coronavirus outbreak has dealt a fatal blow to clothing manufacturers," Shirazi said.
The latest severe decline of the Iranian rial (IRR) was yet to affect offered prices on clothing as an abundance of items was already sewn before it began, noted Shirazi. However, items produced after the new Persian year commenced on March 20 were seeing 30% to 40% price hikes due to the weaker rial driving up costs on imported raw materials, he added.
“As people are housebound, they have few or no requirements for new clothes and the industry now has a glut of items to move,” Shirazi concluded.
9.1.10​ Property & construction sector news
Iran unveils 2,000 quake proof homes in disaster struck Khoy
Iranians hold on to top spot taken from Iraqis as top foreign buyers of Turkish property
Iranian government officials have drawn the curtain on 2,000 earthquake-proof houses in the city of Khoy in West Azerbaijan Province, according to IRNA.
The province was hit by a series of large earthquakes in February and March of last year, killing dozens of people on both sides of the Iranian-Turkish border and leaving thousands of homes in such a state that they were subsequently condemned and torn down.
Within Khoy, a city located 800 kilometres northwest of Tehran that is mainly inhabited by Iranian Azerbaijanis, the Zarabad and Qotur quarters were heavily damaged.
The director general of the West Azerbaijan Housing Foundation, Mahmoud Badli, said on the sidelines of the homes opening ceremony that of 3,500 earthquake-proof housing units planned as part of a reconstruction effort, the 2,000 unveiled were ready for living in.
He noted that Iran’s government approved Iranian rial (IRR) 3.3 trillion ($78.6mn at the official exchange rate, $12.9mn at the free market rate) in financial assistance for people in Khoy who lost their homes or suffered other damages as a result of last year’s earthquakes.
Iranians this year for the first time have overtaken Iraqis as the top foreign buyers of homes in Turkey, ​and have held on to the top spot for eight consecutive months, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data. In the year to October, Iranians bought 5,565 homes in Turkey, compared to Iraqis with 5,074.
US President Donald Trump’s heavy sanctions thrown at Tehran may have undermined bilateral trade between Iran and Turkey, but at the same time they have left many Iranians short of investment opportunities at home, and many of those Iranians have opted for Turkish property as one of the safer bets.
Iran usually posts a wide trade surplus with Turkey, but since Trump withdrew
51​ IRAN Country Report March 2021 www.intellinews.com