Iran accounts for 98% of world barberry production, an official with the Agriculture Ministry said.
Davoud Habibi also said barberry cultivation has created 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in Iran.
Barberries are cultivated across 15,500 hectares in Iran, IRNA reported.
According to the official, 356 tons of barberries worth more than $1.67 million were exported from Iran in the last Iranian year (March 2017-18). Yet, export figures are more than this as large volumes exit the country through suitcase trade, for which there is no precise data.
“The exports mainly headed to the Russian Federation, the littoral countries of the Persian Gulf and the European Union,” he said.
Habibi noted that an official customs office for barberry exports in South Khorasan Province has been planned.
South Khorasan accounts for 98% of the country’s barberry production and the remaining 2% is cultivated in Khorasan Razavi, Kerman and Yazd.
Per capita barberry consumption in Iran amounts to 200 grams per year.
The Agriculture Ministry plans to introduce the high nutritional value and pharmaceutical uses of the product in domestic and foreign markets.
