More than 1.52 million tons of water-intensive agricultural products were exported from Iran during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Aug. 22), according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
“The exports included 691,295 tons of watermelon, 285,000 tons of tomato, 189,000 tons of melon, 143,836 tons of apple, 98,800 tons of onion, 68,234 tons of potato and 40,862 tons of lettuce,” Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
The official added that during the period under review, a total of 2.97 tons of agricultural products worth $1.67 billion were exported.
Iranian agricultural experts have time and again warned against the surplus cultivation and export of water-intensive crops.
Iran is an arid and semi-arid country and these products take a toll on the country’s water and soil resources.
A total of 902,102 tons of watermelon worth $208.58 million were exported to 43 countries during the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), registering a 28% and 33% rise in weight and value respectively compared with the year before, the IRICA spokesman said earlier.
“Our main export destination was Iraq with around 465,000 tons of purchases worth over $95 million, followed by the UAE with 233,000 tons worth $53 million, Oman with 39,000 tons worth $17.4 million, Russia with 28,000 tons worth $14 million, Turkey with 55,000 tons worth $11 million, Afghanistan with 32,000 tons worth $6.4 million and Qatar with 30,000 tons worth $6 million,” he was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Other customers of Iranian watermelon, the official added, were Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, the UK, Italy, Sweden and Serbia.
Expressing his disapproval regarding the high volume of watermelon exports amid a water crisis in the country, Reza Nourani, the head of the Agricultural Products Association of Iran, says the cultivation of each kilogram of watermelon requires around 286 tons of water.
“The fact that the main agricultural crops imported into Iran is wheat, which needs much less water to grow, and that the main exported agricultural product is one requiring such a high volume of water is testament to the extent of mismanagement,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
Customs Duty
The government recently made a decision to impose duties on the export of agrifood products.
The new fiscal year’s budget bill (2022-23) stipulates a 0.5% duty on agricultural and food export`.
Nourani slammed the imposition of duties at a time when the country is facing severe economic sanctions.
“The government says the new regulation is aimed at making up for the water used in cultivating agricultural products. The question is, wouldn’t it be better instead if policymakers had provided new irrigation technologies to farmers to reduce water consumption in the agricultural sector?” he said.
The official believes that the government move to charge exporters 0.5% of their consignment’s value will negatively impact agricultural and food export.
“We want to know why exporters have to pay the price for water that has been used not by them, but by producers in farms and orchards. Prior to this, exporters were awarded incentives for selling products to foreign customers and now, with this regulation in effect, it is as if they are being punished,” he said.
“Sooner or later, producers will also be hit by this new decision, since if exporters suffer losses they will refrain from buying from farmers. If this happens, the government has no way but to pay subsidies to compensate for the losses and to guarantee farmers’ livelihood.”
Nourani noted that the Agriculture Ministry is responsible for introducing cropping patterns for different climates and soils in the country and so far it has failed to do so.
“It is interesting to know that the 0.5% customs duty is set for all agricultural and food products and not just the water-intensive crops like watermelon. The only outcome of such a decision will be a decline in exports,” he added.
Sadreddin Niyavarani, the deputy head of the National Association of Agricultural Products, has called the decision “illegal”.
“It is illegal, based on national development plans, to set customs duties on agricultural products. Due to this measure, agrifood exports have come to a halt since the beginning of the current Iranian year [March 21]. We have made inquiries from the government as well as members of parliament but to no avail. Some MPs were totally oblivious of the new regulation,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
Niyavarani, who is a member of the board of representatives at Tehran chamber of commerce, noted that agricultural products are perishable and need to get to their destinations within a very short period, adding that the new measure has caused delays in exports and damaged many agricultural export consignments.
“It has also caused discontent among our foreign partners since we have not been able to deliver on our contracts. Iranian businesspeople are losing credibility in international markets due to the faulty, inexpert decision,” he said, adding that the regulation has not specified where the customs duties are going to be spent.
Calling for the immediate abolition of duties, he said, "The government, parliament and private sector should come together and think of a proper solution to reduce water consumption in agricultural activities.”
Drought-Stricken
Agriculture in Iran is threatened by drought.
In a report, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has warned agricultural officials of an imminent drought that would cripple the country’s agricultural activities and hamper economic growth in this sector in the current Iranian year (March 2021-22).
The ICCIMA report says precipitation levels have fallen drastically, Mehr News Agency reported.
The Majlis Research Center has released a list of Iranian provinces in a critical state of water shortage: Isfahan, Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ardabil, Fars, Markazi and Khorasan Razavi.
Drought inflicted 670 trillion rials ($2.2 billion) in losses on Iran’s agriculture sector in the 2020-21 crop year, Mohammad Mousavi, director general of the Agriculture Ministry’s Crisis Management Department, said in June 2021.
Assessments carried out over 11.2 million hectares of farmlands in 30 provinces show 43% of the total losses pertain to the decline in the production of agronomic crops, 26% in horticultural products, 13% in fisheries and livestock, and 11% in forage crops,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
“In addition, 4% of the total damage are to blame on challenges created in water transportation infrastructures, pools, pipes, aqueducts and springs, and 3% of losses can be attributed to water supply complications and the animal feed used by nomads.
Noting that precipitation rate in the last crop year decreased by 54% compared with the year before and 41% compared with the long-time average, the official added that besides the decline in precipitation rate, a rise in heat waves and evaporation, as well as the inappropriate distribution of rainfall, have resulted in drought that had adverse consequences for the agriculture sector.
“Reports by Iran Meteorological Organization say 92% of the country have been affected by drought at different levels: 20% of the country’s area face extreme drought, 28% severe drought, 25% moderate drought and 19% of the country are going through stages of becoming abnormally dry, while only 8% of the country have normal conditions,” he said.
