Official Raises Alarm Over Smuggling of Date Palms

Iran’s date palms are being smuggled from the country’s southern provinces, Bushehr in particular, to the littoral states of the Persian Gulf, according to the head of the National Association of Iranian Dates.
“These precious trees are being uprooted and smuggled via small vessels to countries such as Kuwait and Qatar,” Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
Although the smuggling is not being practiced on a large scale, there is a need for the Agriculture Ministry to take urgent action and put an end to this act, which is robbing the country of its national reserves and damaging the environment, he added.