A Member of the Chamber of Commerce; Half of Industrial Gas Exports are Smuggled

A member of the board of representatives of the Iranian Chambers of Commerce has questioned the trade balance of Iran, stating that the volume of "unofficial" exports and imports is so high that if their statistics were recorded, there would be a significant change in the trade figures, indicating that half of industrial gas exports are conducted illegally. Mehrad Abad, in an interview with the ILNA news agency, emphasized that the costs of importing goods illegally are lower than those imported through official channels. This economic activist stated, "Illegal imports and exports occur while their performance statistics are not recorded anywhere, which causes the trade balance reported for the country to be unrealistic." Experts believe that smuggling in Iran is organized and systematic, "with the cooperation of security and military institutions." Smuggling is not limited to specific groups of goods, and any item with a high profit margin attracts the attention of the "institutionalized corruption network in the Iranian economy." In this context, animal feed and essential goods, considered the most secure and strategic goods in the country, have also fallen within the scope of this network's activities. On December 19, the public prosecutor of Imam Port in Khuzestan Province announced the issuance of an indictment for 19 defendants in a case of "major disruption in the economic system" and "engaging in the smuggling of animal feed." Mohammad Reza Jafari Asl referred to this case as "organized smuggling," stating that public necessities and animal feed were smuggled by two companies, along with forged documents. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, also reported on December 6 the arrest of six village heads, three employees of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade (IMT), and two members of the engineering system for collaborating with fuel smugglers. Aref Akbari, the public prosecutor of Hormozgan Province, stated that these individuals had issued "false confirmations" for construction machinery, aiding in smuggling. The Mehr news agency also reported on May 18, quoting farmers, that "I sold wheat for 20,000 tomans per kilo to a trader, who then smuggled it to Iraq for 35,000 tomans per kilo. Thus, the broker profits as much as the farmer." Analysts believe that due to the sensitivity of smuggled goods ranging from fuel to wheat and powdered milk, as well as the logistics needed for smuggling, such actions cannot occur without the cooperation of government agencies, including customs and road oversight bodies like the traffic police and police stations. In this regard, some former officials have also reported organized smuggling by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in July 2011, criticized the existence of unofficial borders in Iran at a conference related to combating smuggling of goods and currency, referring to the owners of these unofficial borders and ports, known in Iranian economic and political discourse as "invisible ports," as "our own smuggler brothers." The Mashregh website reported that Ahmadinejad, in a "clear accusation," "accuses the IRGC of smuggling" and uses the term "smuggler brothers" to convey this message. The head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce announced a $4 billion decrease in non-oil exports, a 33% decrease in exports to Turkey, statistical manipulation for "achievement-making," a $27 billion discrepancy in the trade balance, and a decrease in the Central Bank's foreign currency reserves, criticizing the government by stating that "playing with statistics" is as dangerous as "fabricating statistics."