Exports from Mazandaran Province reached $253 million in the current fiscal year’s first 11 months (March 21, 2021-Feb. 19), registering a 60% year-on-year growth, according to a local official.
The figure stood at $158 million in the last year’s corresponding period, Mojtaba Razavi also told IRNA.
Dairy products, cement, minerals, plastic, wood, automotive parts, flowers and plants, kiwi, citrus fruits and fruit juice were the main exported products.
Russia was the main export destination with $47.11 million worth of imports from the Iranian province to its south. It was followed by Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.
Iraq, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Romania, Afghanistan and India were other destinations during the period.
A total of $1.1 billion worth of goods were imported to the province during the same period, registering a 38% year-on-year growth, which stood at $793 million during last year’s corresponding period.
Barley with $309 million topped the list of imports, which also included corn, wheat, edible oil and oilseed, wood and chemical products.
The total commercial capacity of the ports of northern Mazandaran Province stands at 13 million tons, of which Amirabad accounts for 7.5 million tons, Nowshahr 4.5 million tons and Fereydounkenar 1 million tons.
Citrus Production, Export Hub
The province is a major producer and exporter of citrus fruit.
A total of 250,000 tons of citrus were exported from Mazandaran in the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), registering a 60% rise compared with the year before, according to a local official.
“Our main export destinations were Russia and Iraq,” Hadi Izadi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
He said last year’s citrus fruit production in Mazandaran exceeded 2.7 million tons, which was 10% more than the previous year.
“At present, there are 500 sorting units with a capacity of 250,000 tons of citrus fruits, 119 cold storage facilities with a 473-ton capacity and 148 warehouse units with a storage capacity of 381 tons in the province. This has led to a rise in exports and reduced the amount of fruit that perishes and goes to waste every year,” he added.
Mazandaran’s citrus fruit orchards stretch across 112,000 hectares of the province, 110,000 hectares of which currently bear fruit. Out of the total figure close to 80,000 hectares and 30,000 hectares have undergone orange and tangerine cultivation and on the rest lemons, limes and bitter oranges are produced.
According to Hossein Negahdar, the deputy head of Mazandaran Agricultural Organization, the northern province accounts for around 23% of the country’s total employment in the agriculture sector.
Mazandaran Province, located in northern Iran along the Caspian Sea, cultivates 72 kinds of agricultural products, the annual yields of which amount to nearly 7 million tons. The province accounts for only 2.5% of Iran’s arable land, yet produces 7% and 11% of the country’s agricultural products in weight and value respectively per year.
According to Hossein Ali Qovanlou, a local official, food industries account for 42% of the province’s production units, which have thrived despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
With 150,000 hectares of orchards, Mazandaran is the top producer of horticultural products in Iran.
