Iranians spent over 73.890 million dollars on gum in the past nine months — 2 million dollars a week —, which was 100 times more than the amount spent four years ago according to Iran's Donya-ye Eqtesad newspaper.
This assertion that Iranians pay more than 2 million dollars a week for their chewing gum stands to reason in a country, which produces little gum and imports a great deal.
Moreover, the habit appears to be contagious. Iranians chewed 25 tons of gum in 2005 as compared to 2463 tons in the past nine months, which indicates that the popularity of the insoluble, chewy sweet has risen by a hundred percent.
Iran's penchant has sparked a fierce contest between chewing gum manufacturers — particularly those of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates — who are all trying to cash in on the potential goldmine.
At the same time, Iran's domestic industry also has seen the financial opportunity and made an effort to boost the domestic industry by establishing its second largest chewing gum factory on March 8, 2010.
The factory, which was built with a 30-million-dollar, five-year investment, will produce sugar-free gum.
The latest data showed that 7 out 10 people chew at least one piece of gum a day.
The number might raise concerns about the state of public health, when one considers that figures also show that fewer than 5 out of 10 people drink even one glass of milk a day.
Press TV
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