Dried fruits and nuts exports stood at 128,000 tons worth $319 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (March 21-June 21), registering a 19% and 28% growth in weight and value respectively year-on-year, according to Mahmoud Bazari, an official with the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran.
From the total export value, 63% belonged to pistachio with $204 million, registering a 33% growth YOY, the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran's news portal reported.
The tonnage of pistachio exports stood at 30,000 tons to register a 39% YOY rise.
India, Chine, Germany, Iraq, the UAE, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Kazakhstan were the main export destinations of Iranian pistachio, which was exported to 80 countries during the period.
Iran’s annual domestic demand for pistachio amounts to between 35,000 and 45,000 tons, accounting for 20% of the total output. On average, Iran exports 80% of its total pistachio yields.
Iran and the US are the world’s biggest producers of pistachio. The US output has overtaken Iran’s in recent years though the quality of the Iranian crop is widely considered superior to that of the US.
In addition, Iran has more diverse varieties of pistachio than the US.
Iranian pistachios have a world-famous flavor that is unrivaled. This taste advantage is improved by roasting Iranian pistachios because of its higher unsaturated oil content. Roasting reduces any bacterial pollution, which may be existing in the raw product.
According to Ratinkhosh R&D Team, Iranian pistachios have more capability for roasting from 160 to 180°C (hot stream temperature), which brings out its unique flavor.
Q1 date exports hit 55,000 tons worth $48 million, registering a 4% and 6% growth in weight and value respectively, year-on-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.
However, India is the main export destination of Iran’s dates, according to Meqdad Takallouzadeh, secretary of the National Association of Iranian Dates.
Noting that consumption of dates during the holy month of Ramadan accounts for 50% of the annual consumption of dates, Takallouzadeh said 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.
Zahra Jalili Moqaddam, an Agriculture Ministry official, said Iran is the world’s second biggest producer of dates with an annual production of around 1.2 million tons and the figure accounts 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 on the export front.
Date is mainly produced in six Iranian provinces, namely Kerman, Sistan-Baluchestan, Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr and Fars.
Q1 raisins exports stood at 37,000 tons worth $48 million in the three-month period, registering a 43% and 41% growth in weight and value respectively.
China, the UAE, India, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Afghanistan are the main export destinations of Iranian raisin.
According to Darab Hassani, an official with Agriculture Ministry, Iran has around 308,000 hectares of vineyards (289,000 hectares of which are productive) with an annual output of 3 million tons of grapes, out of which an average of 200,000 tons of raisins are produced annually, ILNA reported.
The main grape producing provinces of Iran are Fars, Qazvin, Hamedan, Khorasan Razavi, East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Zanjan and Markazi in a descending order.
Domestic raisins consumption is at 40,000 tons per year.
According to Abbas Banazadeh, an agriculture expert, Iran is the world's third biggest producer of raisins after the US and Turkey, and the eighth biggest producer of grapes.
Iran’s biggest export destination for grapes and raisins is Russia. Other main customers are member countries of the European Union, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf littoral countries.
According to Younes Jaeleh, the head of Tabriz Chamber of Commerce, Iran produces 286,000 tons of grapes annually with East Azarbaijan Province having a 68,700-ton share.
