اولويت بندي بازارهاي هدف محصولات منتخب پتروشيمي ايران

The Ranking of Target Markets of Selected Petrochemical Products of Iran

Following the considerable amount of investment in petrochemical industry which has taken place in recent years by the government, the export of these products have been added to the list of exports of the country, and is following an increasing trend. The profits which accrue to the producers of these items are high and considerable because of favorable factor endowment, availability of imported technology and the interest shown by foreign investors in investing in the sector. In the light of these new developments and in order to expand more the export proceeds of these products, adopting an export promotion strategy which could provide exporters and government authorites with guidelines and facilities is of outmost importance. In this paper attempts have been made to evaluate the target markets for selected petrochemical products of Iran and answer to the following questions: •In which petrochemical products Iran enjoy comparative advantage? •Which countries in the world are Iranʹs trade partners in the field of trade in petrochemicals? And what is the situation with regards to trend stability of Iranʹs petrochemical exports to its trade partners?• What are the opportunities and threats facing the export of petrochemicals of Iran? The results obtained from the ranking of the target markets and its comparison with what has been the case in present and the past show that there is a considerable difference between the potential and actual markets; In other words, the findings of the paper shows that most target markets are potentials and not actual markets. There are many reasons for such a difference. Among these reasons one could refer to the fact that up to now the export of petrochemicals of the country has not been affected through prudent and well defined marketing strategy and has been primarily influenced by political and diplomatic relation with the importing countries, while in most of the Middle Eastern countries the production and export of these products is carried out by transnational corporations. This process has brought to these countries the advantages and benefits which emanate from monopolistic and olygopolistic markets. Furthermore, due to high and sophisticated technology which is at the disposal of these companies, the quality of the products produced is in conformity with world standards. Therefore, to increase and obtain shares, in the markets which have been determined as Iranʹs petrochemicals target markets would be contingent upon the following terms and conditions: Firstly, The products must be of high quality; this necessitate that the products be produced with a high and up to date technology. Secondly, the exports must be done within the framework of a long-run industrial strategy and hence, according to a marketing and export promotion strategy.