Development of Agribusiness Enterprises - Asian Productivity ...

total capacities of existing industries (24 million mt) and units under construction (3.6 million
mt), it will be necessary to construct some 42 million mt of additional capacity.
2. Desirable Category
In view of the anticipated production from 19 crops in the desirable category in 2021
(179 million mt), and taking into account the present total capacities of existing industries (24
million mt) and units under construction (3.6 million mt), it will be necessary to construct
some 61.4 million mt of additional capacity.
3. Ideal Category
In view of the anticipated crop production in the ideal category in 2021 (287 million
mt), and taking into account the present total capacities of existing industries (24 million mt)
and units under construction (3.6 million mt), it will be necessary to construct some 175
million mt of additional capacity.
PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS
Most of the food processing plants in the Islamic Republic of Iran are at least 15 years
old, and are using equipment that was either imported or copied from older models. This is
particularly true of the country’s sugar beet and edible oil refineries, wheat silos and flour
mills, many of which were established more than 25 years ago. These plants are mostly
obsolete. They use excessive fuel and energy, and have comparatively low levels of
efficiency. The sugar beet factories have a maximum yield of 8 percent, while the
corresponding figure for European factories exceeds 10 percent. The Islamic Republic of
Iran also has some more modern plants that were established after the Islamic Revolution.
A small number of the more modern plants, which are used for date packing, the production
of fruit juice and concentrates, and the manufacturing of potato crisps, were established
between the early and mid-1990s.
The development of the food processing industry in the Islamic Republic of Iran is not
constrained by the lack of technical know-how and skilled manpower. There has been an
outpouring of food technologists from the country’s colleges and higher institutes in recent
years. A number of graduates have joined the food industry, while others have found jobs
in government departments or the non-food sectors.
In order to reduce production costs, however, some food factories avoid employing
highly-trained and experienced staff. In particular, almost all food processing plants lack
experts in the fields of automation, packaging, instrumentation, bio-environmental matters
and food engineering, partly because of a shortage of these skills and partly because the
owners of the plants do not recognize the need for such expertise. Moreover, in some plants,
food technologists confine themselves to food laboratories or engage in managerial work.
The production line is consequently left more or less in the hands of technicians and foremen,
who lack the skills and experience to be able to handle the job well.
The following points are other problems facing the development of food industries in
Iran.
C Many plants utilize only 50-60 percent of their nominal capacities, owing to the
shortage of liquidity, the age of some plants, inadequate local supplies of raw materials
and, in some cases, a lack of incentive for the owner to enter competitive international
markets.
C In general, state-owned plants and those run by foundations and quasi-governmental
organizations enjoy government support and subsidies, which private entrepreneurs are
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