Iran's petrochemical industry is planning to increase production of petrochemical products in order to raise exports to European markets.

An informed source in Iran's petrochemical sector was quoted by IRNA on Sunday as saying that following the recent nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in Vienna, demand for Iran's petrochemical products has been soaring in European markets.

The source, who was not named by IRNA, added that to meet the increasing demand for Iran's petrochemicals, the country is planning to increase production of these products.

“During recent days, Iran has received many orders from European customers because European buyers who were not able to purchase Iran's petrochemical products due to imposition of sanctions on the country are now willing to expand cooperation with Tehran,” the source said.

Before sanctions were imposed on Iran by Western countries, Iran was a major supplier of petrochemical products to European markets.

Sanctions were imposed on Iran by the US and EU at the beginning of 2012, alleging that there was diversion in Iran's nuclear program toward military objectives; an allegation that Iran categorically rejected.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] This photo shows polymer plastic beads produced by petrochemical industry.[/caption]

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group – the US, the UK, Germany, France, China, and Russia – reached the conclusion of negotiations over Tehran’s civilian nuclear program, with the Islamic Republic and the sextet sealing an agreement.

According to the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), all economic and financial sanctions against Iran will be removed. In addition, all bans on Iran’s Central Bank, shipping, oil industry, and many other companies will be lifted.

According to IRNA’s report, industrial sources believe that producers of petrochemical products in Iran are now making plans to get back to markets in such European countries as Germany, Italy and France.

The report added that Iran's polymer products are expected to enter European markets in the next few months, though Iran still has a long way to go before regaining the past position it had in those markets.

Experts believe that when Iran's state-run banks get reconnected to the SWIFT network, the country will be able to resume its petrochemical exports to Europe at high volume.

Gholamali Kamyab, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iran for foreign exchange affairs, told IRNA in late July that he country’s state-run banks will be connected to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) once the JCPOA enters into effect.

SWIFT is a global supplier of secure messaging services, which is used by nearly every bank around the world to send payment messages that lead to the transfer of money across international borders.

By Press TV