The local industry has informed the government that Iranian tiles worth Rs12 billion were dumped into the local market in just one year despite some marginal re-valuation by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
While already struggling to survive over huge presence of Chinese tiles, the local industry feels further threatened over heavy influx of Iranian tiles.
The All-Pakistan Ceramic Tiles Manufacturers Association (APCTMA) has informed the FBR Customs’ documents reveal massive arrival of Iranian tiles every month. However, a much bigger quantity smuggled into Pakistan from Iran is not documented.
The association informed the FBR chairman that importers had imported over 3.2 million square metres of tiles from Iran in March 2014 which was the highest ever quantity of tiles imported from one single country in a month.
APCTMA said a number of tiles manufacturing units have been closed down and a few others are considering closing down their tiles making plants.
Only seven manufacturers i.e. Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics, Master Tiles and Ceramics, Karam Ceramics, Emco Industries, Sonex Tiles and Ceramics, Swat Tiles and Ceramics and Frontier Ceramics, are still around.
