Tehran, Apr 23 (IANS): Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Jalil Salari has said that an average of nearly 10 million litres of diesel are smuggled out of the Islamic republic per day due to its competitive price.

Salari, who is also the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), made the remarks in an interview with Iran's official news agency IRNA, which was published on Saturday.

The price for one litre of diesel in Iran is around $0.8 less than that of its surrounding countries, he said, adding that the differences in diesel prices between Iran and its neighbours have made smuggling an alluring activity, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the IRNA interview.

According to Salari, daily consumption of diesel in the country's transportation sector now stands at 84 million litres, while it is estimated that the figure should not exceed 75 million litres per day.

To stop diesel smuggling, Iran has promoted the use of personal fuel cards and upgraded smart systems in order to exercise greater control over the monetary transactions and identify suspicious transactions, said Salari.

Sitting on one of the world's biggest oil and gas reserves, Iran refines more than 2.2 million barrels of crude oil and condensates at its 10 refineries every day. The country's daily output of diesel and gasoline hit 110 and 115 million litres respectively, Salari noted.

The Iranian government subsidizes the use of fuel, making fuel smuggling a lucrative business. Over the past few months, Iranian naval forces have seized a large number of ships for carrying smuggled fuel.