Tehran Times � Export of papers and cardboards from Iran has risen 63 percent in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2019) from its previous year, Deputy Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Farshad Moqimi announced.

Moqimi, the deputy minister for industrial affairs, who was speaking in one of the specialized meetings on investigating domestic industry status attended by some representatives from paper production associations on Tuesday, also said that Iran�s paper and cardboard import has fallen 18 percent in the previous year, IRNA reported.

The official further put the paper and cardboard production at near one million tons in the past year, increasing from its preceding year, saying, �We have achieved self-reliance in production of some types of paper and cardboard.�

Mentioning lack of raw materials as one of the main challenges faced by the paper industry, Moqimi said, �We are trying to expedite the supply of raw materials in a way to lay the ground for production of products with higher value added.�

As previously announced by the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade, production of paper in Iran rose 5.5 percent during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21) compared to the same period of time in the previous year.

As reported, some 164,900 tons of different types of paper were produced in the country during the two-month period of this year, rising from 156,200 tons of the product produced in the same time span in the past year.