MNA � Deputy Minister of Industry and Chief Executive of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) said on Tuesday that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exported $3 billion worth of products in 11 months of the current Iranian year (through Feb. 21).

A total of 60 exports consortia and 58 exports management companies have so far been set up in this organization, most of them are active in the field of food, dried nuts, stone and garment industries, Mohsen Salehinia added.

He put the current number of industrial areas in the country at 983, of which 561 and 412 are related to the industrial towns and industrial parks respectively.

Salehinia further said that some 147,000 hectares of land have been provided for the SMEs, adding, "59,000 hectares has so far been registered and granted to the enterprises.�

This comes, while about 22 percent of industrial and production units in the country have faced recession during this year, he noted.

Creating necessary conditions for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop and promote their products has been cited as one of the main aims of ISIPO, he reiterated.

Attracting financial resources and liquidity is one of the major requirements of these economic enterprises, he said, adding that �in this way, internal resources of banks and National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) will be used optimally.�