More than 18,500 tons of raisins worth $24.2 million were exported from Hamedan Province’s Malayer County in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), registering a 3% and 4% decline in weight and value respectively compared with the year before, according to a local customs official.
“The main reason for the decline in exports was the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which are among our main export destinations,” Nasser Torkashvand was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official noted that raisins accounted for the lion’s share of total exports from Malayer during the period.
“A total of 29,000 tons of goods worth $34 million were exported from Malayer last year, with more than 70% of the value pertaining to raisins,” he added.
Other exported products were petroleum jelly for hygienic and industrial uses, ferrosilicon, solid paraffin, steel bars, soybean, dates and textile that were shipped to 30 countries.
Malayer, with more than 50,000 tons of yields is Iran’s raisin production hub.
The traditional grape cultivation in Malayer County’s Jowzan Valley rural district was formally recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in late 2018.
Jowzan Vally is made up of 17 villages and accounts for the lion’s share of Malayer’s grape production.
The grape and grape-based production system in Jowzan has a long history. Farmers have made grape cultivation possible in extreme cold conditions, thanks to unique techniques. Traditional knowhow and tools allow the farmers to process more than 40 grape products out of 130 grape varieties. This, together with higher yield per hectare, unique skills of gardeners and the right sugar level are all factors that make the grapes and raisins of Jowzan Valley different from those of other parts of the country and a top seller among consumers, Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations wrote on its website.
Over the years, the system has significantly improved the locals' living standards, while boosting local tourism and rural economy.
Hamedan Province has over 80,000 hectares of vineyards that yield more than 450,000 tons of grapes per year, 50% of which are produced in Malayer.
According to Darab Hassani, an official with the 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 every year, ILNA reported.
The main grape producing provinces in Iran, apart from Hamedan, are Fars, Qazvin, Khorasan Razavi, East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Zanjan and Markazi.
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.
Raisin is Iran’s third major non-oil exports after carpets and pistachios, according to the head of East Azarbaijan Agricultural Organization, Akbar Fathi.
