Tehran is hosting the First Specialized Exhibition of Iran’s Fruit and Vegetable Industry, also known as “Iran Fruit Show”.
The four-day event, which opened at the Shahr-e-Aftab International Exhibition Center on Feb. 23, will conclude on Feb. 26.
It was inaugurated in the presence of Mohammad Mehdi Boroumandi, a deputy agriculture minister, alongside producers, exporters and representatives of organizations and associations active in the fields of fruit, vegetable, summer crops cultivation and related processing industries.
The exhibitors are also showcasing services related to production and post-production activities, such as packaging, design and sorting of fresh products, construction of cold storages, transportation and logistics in the fruit industry, certificates and standards, Mehr News Agency reported.
Introducing the capabilities of Iran’s fruit, vegetable and summer crops industry, creating an exhibition brand to provide opportunities for foreign trade, developing exports, reducing waste and introducing the latest achievements and new technologies are said to be the main goals of this expo.
The event is hosting visitors from India, Russia, Belarus, Iraq and Turkey.
A series of conferences have also been scheduled on the sidelines of the expo in the fields of specialized transportation of fruit and vegetable, and post-harvest technologies, including packaging, inventory and durability, in the fruit export market.
According to Saeed Rasa, an official with the Agriculture Ministry, an international pavilion at the expo provides an opportunity for Iranian producers and exporters to have direct contact with representatives of fruit buyers.
Those interested can visit the expo from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or access the expo’s live events via the expo’s website or by sending a text message to +989039615000.
Huge Deficit in Agrifood Trade
Latest data released by the Agriculture Ministry show Iran exported 6.26 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $4.03 billion during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2022-Jan. 20).
The figures indicate a fall of 10.24% in tonnage and 7.22% in value compared with last year's corresponding period.
Pistachio topped the list of exports in terms of value with $327.62 million. Tomato was the second major agricultural export product in terms of value with $256.63 million, followed by milk powder worth $251.86 million, dates worth $205.95 million and watermelon worth $181.57 million.
In terms of tonnage, watermelon topped the list with 831,690 tons, tomato with 551,470 tons, followed by apple with 422,930 tons, onion, shallot and garlic with 390,710 tons and dates with 247,060 tons.
Iran exported 8.5 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $5.23 billion in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22) and 8.83 million tons worth $6.21 billion in the year before.
Iran’s 15 neighboring countries were the destinations of 89% of the country’s agricultural and food exports in terms of tonnage during the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), according to a customs expert, Rouhollah Latifi, IRIB News reported.
“Iraq alone accounted for 37% of Iran’s total exports,” he said, adding that more than 65% of Iran’s imports are agrifood products.
Neighbors imported 7.6 million tons from Iran’s total 8.5 million tons of agrifood exports last year.
Iraq was the biggest importer with 3.238 million tons. Among neighboring countries, Iraq was followed by the UAE with 1.74 million tons, Afghanistan with 832,000 tons, Turkey with 269,000 tons, Azerbaijan with 207,000 tons, Armenia with 81,000 tons, Turkmenistan with 203,000 tons, Russia with 634,000 tons, Pakistan with 507,000 tons, Qatar with 190,000 tons, Oman with 171,000 tons, Kazakhstan with 120,000 tons, Kuwait with 73,000 tons and Bahrain with 3,122 tons. Exports to Saudi Arabia were insignificant.
Agrifood imports stood at 21.18 million tons worth $15.33 billion during the 10-month period under the Agriculture Ministry review, indicating a 14.51% fall in weight but an 11.08% rise in value year-on-year.
Corn worth $2.83 billion had the biggest share of imports in terms of value, followed by different kinds of oil worth $2.15 billion, rice worth $1.79 billion, GM soybeans worth $1.59 billion and wheat worth $1.54 billion.
In terms of tonnage, corn topped imports with 70.33 million tons, followed by wheat with 3.5 million tons, followed by GM soybeans with 2.06 million tons, barley with 1.88 million tons and rice with 1.53 million tons.
The export and import volumes indicate that Iran recorded an agrifood trade deficit of 14.92 million tons in tonnage and $11.29 billion in value during the period under review.
