A total of 80,000 tons of pistachio worth $533 million were exported from Iran during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Oct. 22), according to an Agriculture Ministry official, Darab Hassani.
On average, Iran exports 80% of its total pistachio yields. Vietnam, Hong Kong, Germany, the UAE, India, Iraq, Russia and Turkey are Iran’s traditional export markets.
“A total of 281,000 tons of pistachio have been produced this year to register a 21% decline compared with last year’s yields,” he said, adding that the reasons for the decline in production was extreme weather, i.e., extreme cold in spring and unprecedented high temperatures in the summer, “as well as the fact that the pistachio tree is alternate bearing”, IRNA reported.
Alternate bearing trees may produce a greater than average amount of yields one year, called “on-year”, and a lower than average amount the following year, called “off-year”.
Last fiscal year (March 2020-21), Hassani noted, 203,000 tons of pistachio worth $1.37 billion were exported, registering an 86.24% and 41.05% rise compared with the previous year.
“In the last crop year, Iran’s pistachio production stood at 337,000 tons, indicating a 5.86% year-on-year fall,” he added.
A total of 281,000 tons of pistachio have been produced this year to register a 21% decline compared with last year’s yields
Pistachio crop year starts in September and ends in the August of the following year.
Iran’s main pistachio production hubs are Kerman, Khorasan Razavi, Yazd, Fars, South Khorasan, Semnan, Markazi, Qom, Sistan-Baluchestan, Tehran and Isfahan.
Iran and the US are the world’s biggest producers of pistachio. The US output has overtaken Iran’s in recent years, although the quality of the Iranian crop is widely said to be 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 at higher temperatures, because of higher unsaturated oil content. This high-temperature roasting reduces any bacterial pollution, which may be existing in raw product.
Drought Impact
The official earlier referred to the impact of low precipitation levels and water shortage on the decline in pistachio production and said: “In the short run, water scarcity is expected to decrease production in Iran’s central and eastern provinces but since the plant is resistant to soil salinity and needs little irrigation, predictions are that production will bounce back very soon. What is more, during the past years, new orchards have been planted in western and northwestern provinces, which are now bearing fruit. This means production and exports are to see a rise over the course of a few years.”
Iran’s agriculture sector is facing the threat of water shortage.
In a report, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has warned agricultural officials of an imminent drought that would cripple the country’s agricultural activities and hamper economic growth in this sector in the current Iranian year (March 2021-22).
The ICCIMA report says precipitation levels have drastically fallen, Mehr News Agency reported.
The Majlis Research Center has released a list of Iranian provinces in a critical state of water shortage: Isfahan, Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ardabil, Fars, Markazi and Khorasan Razavi.
“Drought has inflicted 670 trillion rials ($2.2 billion) in losses on Iran’s agriculture sector since the beginning of the current crop year,” Mohammad Mousavi, director general of the Agriculture Ministry’s Crisis Management Department, said in June.
Assessments carried out over 11.2 million hectares of farmlands in 30 provinces show 43% of the total losses pertained to the decline in production of agronomic crops, as well as 26% in horticultural products, 13% in fisheries and livestock, and 11% in forage crops, he said in June.
“In addition, 4% of the total damage is to blame on challenges created in water transportation infrastructures, pools, pipes, qanats and springs, while 3% of losses can be attributed to water supply complications and the animal feed used by nomads,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Noting that the precipitation rate in the current crop year has decreased by 54% compared with last year and 41% compared with the long-time average, the official said, “Besides the decline in precipitation rate, the rise in heatwaves and evaporation, and the inappropriate distribution of rainfall have resulted in drought and adverse consequences for the agriculture sector.
“Reports by Iran Meteorological Organization show that 92% of the country have been affected by drought at different levels: 20% of the country’s area are faced with extreme drought, 28% severe drought, 25% moderate drought, and 19% of the country are going through stages of being abnormally dry, while only 8% of the country show normal conditions.”
Mousavi noted that the emergency plans put together by the Agriculture Ministry underlines the management of strategic reserves, animal feed and essential goods in proportion to the decline in production.
“Easing pressure on groundwater resources and soil in the country and fair distribution of pressure or weight of water shortage in different sectors, when used as potable water, or in agriculture or industries sector, have been underscored in this plan,” he said.
