With production worth 2.5 quadrillion rials ($10 billion) per year, Iran’s food industry accounts for around 10% of the country’s overall industrial output, according to deputy minister of industries, mining and trade, Mehdi Sadeqi Niyaraki.
“Iran has more than 8,700 active production units in the field of foodstuff, which have created around 370,000 jobs across the county,” he was quoted by IRNA as saying.
The official added that during the past few years some 2 million tons of different kinds of foodstuff worth nearly $3 billion were exported per year.
Latest available data show a total of 4.5 million tons of agricultural products worth $3.1 billion were exported from Iran during the first seven months of the current fiscal year.
The numbers indicate 26% and 13.86% growth in terms of tonnage and value respectively compared with the same period of last year, Exim News reported quoting Mehrdad Jamal Orounaqi, deputy head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration as saying.
Iran exported 3.74 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $2.6 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 20, Sept. 21).
The figures indicate a 25.65% and 12.75% rise in tonnage and value respectively compared with last year’s corresponding period, the Agriculture Ministry’s website reported.
Fresh and dried pistachio topped the list of exports in terms of value, as the country exported $310.17 million worth of it during the six months.
Tomato was the second major agricultural export product in terms of value with $140.31 million, followed by watermelon with $126.78 million, tomato paste with $88.09 million and fresh and dried pistachio kernel with $82.45 million.
In terms of tonnage, watermelons topped the list with 568,370 tons, followed by tomatoes with 302,680 tons, potato with 270,540 tons, apples with 167,240 tons and melons with 127,940 tons.
“Agricultural yields are expected to improve by 3 million tons, thanks to the current good rainfall year,” says Esmaeil Esfandiyarpour, an official with Agriculture Ministry.
Out of nearly 18 million hectares of Iran's farmlands, 12 million hectares are rain-fed. The impact of rainfalls is more significant in arid areas in the central, southern, eastern and southeastern regions struggling for long with water shortages, drought and extended dry seasons since most of their farms are rain-fed.
“Iran’s output of agricultural products is expected to reach 128 million tons by the end of the current fiscal year [March 2021],” says Shahrokh Shajari, director general of Agriculture Ministry's Export Promotion Bureau.
According to Agriculture Minister Kazem Khavazi, over 4.3 million farmers in Iran produce more than of 124 million tons of agricultural products per year on more than 18.5 million hectares of land.
Agronomical products, he added, account for over 83.5 million tons of the total volume.
According to the minister, Iran possesses 14.3 million hectares of forests, 84 million hectares of pastures, 2.7 million hectares of woodland and 32.6 million hectares of deserts.
Expounding on the government's track record since President Hassan Rouhani first came to office in the August of 2013, Aiculture Minister Kazem Khavazi says agricultural production has increased from 97 million tons in 2013 to 125 million tons in fiscal 2019-20 to register a 28.86% rise, according to the minister.
“It is estimated that the figure will reach 130 million tons by the end of the current Iranian year [in March 2021,” Khavazi was quoted by IRNA as saying.
“When the Rouhani Administration took office in the August of 2013, each cubic meter of water yielded around 920 grams of agricultural products. The figure presently stands at 1,450 grams, which shows significant improvement in water efficiency. Moreover, farms equipped with modern irrigation systems increased from 1.2 million hectares to 2.4 million hectares and irrigation efficiency has increased from 35% to 45% over the course of the seven years.”
According to the minister, agronomical harvest stood at 83 million tons, and horticultural production at 24 million tons last year, which show 22.06% and 50% increases respectively compared with 2013.
Moreover, livestock production increased to stand at around 16 million tons last year, showing a 384.84% upsurge over the period.
Milk production, the minister went on to say, saw 34.14% growth over the period under review to reach 11 million tons last year. The government plans to maintain the figure in the current year and the year to come.
“Seafood production experienced a 44.44% rise to stand at 1.3 million tons last year, from 900,000 tons in 2013. Estimates are that the figure will rise to 1.5 million tons by the end of the current year in March 2021. Shrimp production has increased from 12,000 tons to 46,000 tons and caviar production from one ton to 10 tons.”
Khavazi added that last year 13.7 million tons of wheat were produced in Iran while the figure stood at 9.3 million tons seven years ago.
Honey production grew from 75,000 tons in 2013 to 112,000 tons last year to indicate 49.33% rise.
In the field of agro mechanization, said Khavazi, the government has provided 112,000 tractors and more than 10,000 combine harvesters.
Today there are 18,500 hectares of greenhouse spread across the country while there were only 8,800 hectares of such facilities when Rouhani first took office.
