The 29th International Exhibition of Food, Food Technology and Agriculture, also known as Iran Agrofood 2022, opened in Tehran on Friday.
More than 570 domestic and 95 foreign companies are showcasing their latest products and services at the four-day event.
The foreign exhibitors have come from 17 countries, including from Spain, Austria, the UAE, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Belarus, Belgium, Turkey, Tunisia, Denmark, Russia, Switzerland, Oman, Syria, France, the Netherlands and India, IRIB News reported.
Introducing Iranian capacities in the fields of agriculture and food industries, boosting trade by developing non-oil exports, sharing the knowhow of foreign companies with their domestic counterparts and initiating communication between them are the goals of the event.
A wide range of products, including meat products, dairy, semi-cooked food, processed food, canned food, nuts, dried and aromatic vegetables, beverages, pastry, bread, sugar and sugarcane industries, agricultural machinery and inputs, irrigation systems, greenhouse crops, packaging machines and refrigerators are being exhibited.
A series of conferences are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the expo by specialists and experts.
Those interested may visit the expo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Belarusian Business Delegation
A business delegation from the Republic of Belarus is expected to visit Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, as the country participates in Agrofood 2022, according to the news portal of TCCIM.
The delegation is due to meet with the chamber’s members on June 20.
Belarusian manufacturers will display a variety of products, BelTa reported.
For example, the lineup of the Belarusian confectionery firm Vitba will include more than 100 items, including cereals, waffles and cookies. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus will demonstrate innovative developments in several areas: veterinary drugs and bio-additives based on nanoparticles for farm animals, low-protein products with reduced phenylalanine content, bio-conservatives and new types of dry yeast for food industry, including those of functional purpose (low-protein, especially designed for people suffering from such diseases as phenylketonuria), technologies for in-vitro multiplication of fruits, berries, hazelnuts and grapes, and also the latest crop varieties with high productivity and yield potential.
The Belarusian State Technological University will showcase new types of mineral fertilizers, technologies for processing agricultural waste to obtain construction and composite materials, technologies for processing plant raw materials and medicinal herbs to produce biologically active additives, new methods of flax quality analysis and products.
The Belarusian products on display will also include disinfectants for agricultural premises, bio-preparations for plants, veterinary preparations for agricultural and domestic animals, food packaging film production technologies and functional food additives.
Agrifood Exports Drop 15% as Imports Rise 64%
Latest data released by the Agriculture Ministry show Iran exported 8.48 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $5.23 billion in the fiscal 2021-22 (ended March 20).
The figures indicate a 4.06% decline in tonnage and a 15.84% fall in value year-on-year.
Pistachio topped the list of exports in terms of value with $914.43 million.
Tomato was the second major agricultural export product in terms of value with $384.49 million, followed by dates with $305.23 million, apple with $278.95 million and watermelon with $208.58 million.
In terms of tonnage, apple topped the list with 985,440 tons and was followed by watermelon with 902,100 tons, tomato with 824,660 tons, potato with 600,860 tons and onion with 372,690 tons.
Agronomic products accounted for 5.25 million tons worth $1.87 billion of total exports, down 3.26% in terms of tonnage and down 9.97% in terms of value.
Horticultural exports amounted to 2.5 million tons worth $2.53 billion, down 3.89% in terms of tonnage and down 21.02% in value respectively.
Exports of livestock and poultry products reached 581,970 tons worth $561.12 million, down 13.72% in tonnage and 17.12% in value.
The veterinary sector exported 1,090 tons of products worth $10.76 million, up 23.15% and 37.61% in weight and value respectively.
The fisheries sector exported 121,410 tons worth $221.02 million, posting a rise of 9.72% and 5.92% in total volume and value respectively.
Exports from the forest and rangeland sector hit 21,360 tons worth $29.91 million, up 6.16% in tonnage but down 5.73% in value.
Iran exported 8.83 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $6.21 billion in the fiscal 2020-21.
Agrifood imports stood at 31.49 million tons worth $17.9 billion in the fiscal 2021-22, indicating a 32.84% and 64.03% growth in volume and value respectively.
Corn had the biggest share of imports in terms of value with $3.37 billion, followed by different edible oils with $2.74 billion, wheat with $2.49 billion, GM soybeans with $1.41 billion and soymeal with $1.27 billion.
In terms of tonnage, feed corn topped imports with 9.74 million tons, followed by wheat with 7.08 million tons, barley with 3.34 million tons, soymeal with 2.34 million tons and GM soybeans with 2.15 million tons.
Agronomic products accounted for 29.81 million tons worth $14.96 billion of total imports, up 32.42% and 70.7% in tonnage and value respectively YOY.
Horticultural products stood at 1.42 million tons worth $1.8 billion, up 38.05% and 39.91% in tonnage and value respectively.
Imports of livestock and poultry products hit 216,720 tons worth $652.38 million, up 115.15% in tonnage and up 46.82% in value.
The veterinary sector imported 5,581 tons worth $400.58 million, up 46.36% and 28.28% in tonnage and value respectively.
Imports by the fisheries sector amounted to 11,460 tons worth $31.94 million, down 41.98% and 32.85% in tonnage and value.
The forest and rangeland sector’s imports totaled 33,090 tons worth $55.42 million, down 28.88% and 4.78% in tonnage and value.
The export and import volumes indicate that Iran recorded an agrifood trade deficit of 23.01 million tons in tonnage and $12.67 billion in value during the period under review.
Impact of Drought
The growth in agrifood imports comes amid the rising import of essential goods and decline in production, which is partly due to water shortage and drought.
Also known as necessity or basic goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
The unloading of essential goods at Iranian ports of entry reached 2.17 million tons during the first month of the current Iranian year (March 21-April 20), registering an 11% rise compared with the similar period of last year, according to figures released by the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran.
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 fallen drastically.
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 2021.
Assessments carried out over 11.2 million hectares of farmlands in 30 provinces show 43% of the total losses pertained to the decline in agronomic production, as well as 26% to horticultural products, 13% to fisheries and livestock, and 11% to forage crops, he said in June last year.
“In addition, 4% of the total damage are to blame on problems created in water transportation infrastructures, pools, pipes, aqueducts and springs, and 3% of losses can be attributed to water supply complications and the animal feed used by nomads,” he said.
“Beside the decline in precipitation rate, an increase in heatwaves and evaporation, and the inappropriate distribution of rainfall, have resulted in drought that had 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 facing extreme drought, 28% severe drought, 25% moderate drought and 19% of the country are becoming abnormally dry, while only 8% of the country are having normal conditions.
