A total of 1.32 million tons of dates have been produced in the current Iranian year (March 2020-21), which are 700,000-800,000 tons higher than last year, according to Meqdad Takallouzadeh, secretary of the National Association of Iranian Dates.
“The quality of dates produced this year has improved, thanks to sufficient rainfalls at the beginning and end of the year and the mild summer we had, particularly in Khuzestan and Bushehr,” he was quoted as saying by ILNA.
“The outbreak of coronavirus resulted in a decline in demand both at home and abroad. Iran exported 300,000 tons of dates this year. Muslim countries are the main customers of Iranian dates: Persian Gulf littoral states, Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Among other importers of Iranian dates are the Commonwealth of Independent States and Russia, as well as European countries such as Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. But India is the main export destination of Iranian dates.”
Noting that dates consumption during the holy month of Ramadan accounts for 50% of the total annual consumption, Takallouzadeh said, “Demand is rising as we are approaching Ramadan [starting April 14]. Domestic demand for dates is estimated to stand at 700,000 tons while per capita date consumption in Iran is around 7-8 kilograms per year.”
Rouhollah Latifi, spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, said that 238,152 tons of dates worth $211.64 million were exported from Iran to 85 countries in the last Iranian year (March 2019-20), ILNA reported.
Zahra Jalili-Moqaddam, an Agriculture Ministry official, said Iran is the world’s second biggest producer of dates with an annual production of 1.2 million tons that account for 10% of the global output.
Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Pakistan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan, Oman and Libya are the top 10 producers of dates in the world. Egypt has the biggest production and Algeria has the biggest area of land under date cultivation.
"Iran is the biggest exporter of dates in the world," Chairman of the National Association of Iranian Dates Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi told Financial Tribune in an interview, noting that Egypt ranks second, with Saudi Arabia and Tunisia sharing the third spot in the export front.
Over a dozen types of dates are produced in Iran.
Date is mainly produced in six Iranian provinces, namely Kerman, Sistan-Baluchestan, Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr and Fars.
This year, production in Kerman, Sistan-Baluchestan and Khuzestan accounted for around 70% of total output.
“Exports have been hampered due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, we expect 15-20% of our overall production to be exported by the end of the current Iranian year [March 20],” Farrokhi was quoted as saying by Young Journalists Club.
The Third International and Specialized Exhibition of Dates and Related Equipment and Industries, also known as “DATEX 2021”, was held in the southwestern Fars Province in January.
“Date industry owners and businesspeople from Iran, as well as traders from Afghanistan and Pakistan took part in the event,” Alireza Vahedi, a local official, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
All health protocols to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic were observed during the four-day exhibition.
