In the Carton and Sheet Specialized Seminar held by Raxcel with the cooperation of Mondy Company, the Managing Director of Carton and Paper Executives Community, Mr. Azami made an interesting lecture on the status of this industry as follows:
In the name of God,
It is a pleasure for me to be at service of my friends and colleagues and hardworking entrepreneurs of paper and carton industries today, and I have the opportunity to welcome you and take a few minutes of your time.
₋ First of all, Roxcel Co. and their esteemed partner, Mony Co., should be appreciated for their measure to hold this valuable seminar in order to improve the scientific knowledge of active decision makers on paper and carton industries.
₋ As a small player of this industry, I, along with the elders and long experienced managers, have had the opportunity to permanently follow up the objectives of developing and deepening the knowledge in these industries.
The measures taken to form the Carton and Paper Executives Community and its relevant cooperative indicate that around 140 carton making factories have been able to be friends and convergent at improving the quality and the quantity by modernizing and increasing the knowledge level of this business while continuing their competition which is an integral part of industrial and economic activities.
₋ Surely the industrial development, the increase in employment, and the improvement of the quality in this industry are the strategic objectives for all the audience. I should admit that one of the most reliable ways to achieve these lofty targets certainly has been and will be to improve the beneficiaries’ knowledge along with the basic measure of stimulating the demand.
₋ I have referred to the crucial and vital subject of stimulating demand which is a guarantee for the survival of the industry. I emphatically believe that this kind of seminars with the expansion of social knowledge about the core strengths of cellulose packaging compare with other kinds of packaging which are ease, flexibility, and the strict observance of environmental considerations will considerably contribute to the stimulation of and the increase in demand.

Now I am going to move on to a glance at some key points in this respect: ₋ With God’s help and our earnest authorities, we have passed the conditions of West’s cruel sanctions behind, but it is still in the transition period which has taken a little long. Therefore, the stagnation of the market has continued so far, and the market has been smaller, too. ₋ The comparative statistics issued by the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade indicate that the demand for carton boxes in 2015 and 2014 had around 18% drop, and the declining trend continued in the first half of this year. We hope that the trend will improve in the remaining months of this year and that the analytical data of the Central Bank and World Bank predicting 6.4% of economic growth and 8.6% of inflation for 2016 will come true. ₋ The sharp decline in demand was accompanied with drastic increase in supply which have made the market conditions unimaginable complex, and it can be claimed that the current market is really super competitive. The statistics and figures show that the supply is more than five times as much as the demand; it means that the existing manufacturers are now working at 20% of their capacities which is not economical at all. ₋ The arrival of new partners to Carton industry with the advanced machinery promises us the increase in the quality of packaging products and the possibility to expand exports in future, but the ratio of supply to demand is so unbalanced that it is feared that the industry will face the employment crisis in near future. Therefore, it seems that the respected authorities in the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade should pay special attention to this very important issue, and perhaps they need to revise the process of issuing the permission of establishment drastically. ₋ The paper industry has developed seriously over 2014 and 2015. Many carton making partners have allocated a part of their expansion plans to paper making line. Some sheet and paper manufacturers has attempted to develop and equip themselves more. Luckily, qualitative approach and product diversity can be seen in most of these projects which very gratifying. Obviously, improving the quality of produced cartons and generally cellulose packaging are one of the keys for the expansion of industrial and non-oil exports which is directly related to the quality of paper used by carton manufacturers. If these kinds of paper are supplied locally, on one hand the useless exit of foreign currency will be prevented. On the other hand, the development of the country’s exports will increase foreign currency revenue. Therefore, to achieve this objective completely, I emphasize and recommend that paper making from virgin fiber should be considered by esteemed manufacturers, and reliable plans should be designed in this respect. To sum up, I hope God, the Almighty, to grant us all the success to be able to simultaneously follow our personal goals and contribute to removal the barriers and the bottleneck of development of our dear country even though our share will be small. Oh my God help us to achieve salvation at last and make you pleased. Thank you very much