Iran's industry minister has said the central bank should be stripped of its role in trade policy, blaming foreign exchange interventions for constraining exporters and creating challenges for manufacturers on April 19.

Speaking at the 114th meeting of the Public-Private Sector Dialogue Council in Qazvin, Mohammad Atabak said the central bank's influence over trade matters had become a significant challenge. He said responsibility for such policies should be removed from the central bank to improve conditions for business.

"The intervention of foreign exchange policies in trade policies has caused problems and this responsibility must be removed from the central bank to improve this situation," Atabak said.

The minister said the government had been dealing with imbalances inherited from previous administrations, with annual consumption rising 7% to 10% and production only 3%. He cited progress on renewable energy, saying electricity cuts had begun a month later this year than in the previous year and that more than 4,600MW of new solar capacity had been brought online by industrialists.

Hossein Abdian, president of Qazvin's Chamber of Commerce, told the meeting that foreign exchange policies had "taken the breath out of exporters" and driven many long-standing producers out of the export cycle.

Abdian said the gap between official and free market exchange rates had at times reached 30% to 50%, putting severe pressure on exporters who bought inputs at free-market rates but had to sell foreign exchange earnings at lower official rates.

Since 2018, multiple and sometimes contradictory directives on repatriating export earnings had prevented long-term planning and imposed unforeseen costs on businesses, Abdian said. Many producers had fulfilled their foreign exchange obligations since 2021 but remained tangled in cases relating to earlier years.

Atabak said 1,325 large industrial units with total investment of IRR7.66 quadrillion ($4.92bn) had been commissioned under the current government, not counting revived projects within industrial parks. Iran had also joined the ranks of eight countries producing graphite electrodes, a material previously imported for use in the steel industry.

The minister said Iran Khodro (IKCO) and Saipa had been allocated combined financing of IRR400 trillion ($257mn), with IRR200 trillion ($128.5mn) each approved by the central bank to settle debts with parts suppliers. Qazvin-based producers could follow up to accelerate receipts.

Atabak said Iran had secured zero or reduced tariffs on 87% of goods under the Eurasian Economic Union agreement, which covers a market of 285mn people across Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. The deal also extends to Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Around 85 disbursements had been made under an IRR7 quadrillion ($4.5bn) support package for industry, with further funds in distribution through electronic letters of credit.

Qazvin Governor Mohammad Nowzari said 282 industrial units had been brought on stream in the province this year with IRR19 trillion ($12.2mn) of investment, alongside the return of 40 dormant production units to operation. Qazvin posted 10-month exports of $466mn and more than 83,000 tonnes, rising year on year against a national decline. The province issued 310 business cards during the year.

Atabak said the restrictive 120km radius rule preventing industrial development close to Tehran, which has constrained expansion at the Caspian 2 industrial town in Abyeq, would be raised at cabinet level. Qazvin lawmakers have asked for the province to be exempted from the rule to allow facilities similar to those in neighbouring Semnan and Qom.

Private sector representatives raised concerns about frozen mining concessions covering 80% of the province's mineral zones, arbitrary tax code applications, banking bottlenecks and the risk of large Qazvin-based automakers halting operations in coming months due to raw material shortages.

Abdian called for banks to be allowed to issue guarantees enabling exporters to settle foreign exchange obligations in instalments rather than lump sums.