Iran exported 2.93 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $1.59 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Aug. 22), new data released by the Agriculture Ministry show.
The figures indicate a decrease of 10.15% in tonnage and 15.4% in value compared with last year's corresponding period.
Watermelon topped the list of exports in terms of value with $152.21 million. Tomato was the second major agricultural export product in terms of value with $133.59 million, followed by pistachio with $108.09 million, saffron with $57.26 million and raisins with $45.03 million.
In terms of tonnage, watermelon again topped the list with 691,290 tons, tomato with 285,620 tons, followed by Persian melon with 188,830 tons, apple with 143,840 tons and onion, shallot and garlic with 111,690 tons.
Agronomic products accounted for 2.16 million tons worth $718.12 million of total exports, down 4.93% and 6.47% in terms of tonnage and value respectively.
Horticultural exports amounted to 490,390 tons worth $505.65 million, down 31.18% in terms of tonnage and down 38.87% in value respectively.
Exports of livestock and poultry products reached 231,570 tons worth $263.11 million, down 3.47% in tonnage, but up 22.57% in value.
The veterinary sector exported 313 tons of products worth $1.91 million, down 28.62% and 57.09% in weight and value respectively.
The fisheries sector exported 47,110 tons worth $96.99 million, posting a rise of 26.1% and 57.09% in total volume and value respectively.
Exports from the forest and rangeland sector hit 6,220 tons worth $7.99 million, up 17.04% in terms of tonnage, but down 3.45% in terms of value, respectively.
Iran exported 8.48 million tons of agricultural and food products worth $5.23 billion in the fiscal 2021-22 (ended March 20) and 8.83 million tons worth $6.21 billion in the year before.
Watermelon Export Amid Drought
As mentioned above, watermelon was the top agrifood exported from Iran, both in terms of value and tonnage.
A total of 902,102 tons of watermelon worth $208.58 million were exported from Iran to 43 countries in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), registering a 28% and 33% rise in weight and value respectively compared with the year before, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
"Our main export destination was Iraq with around 465,000 tons of purchases worth over $95 million, followed by the UAE with 233,000 tons worth $53 million, Oman with 39,000 tons worth $17.4 million, Russia with 28,000 tons worth $14 million, Turkey with 55,000 tons worth $11 million, Afghanistan with 32,000 tons worth $6.4 million and Qatar with 30,000 tons worth $6 million," Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
Other customers of Iranian watermelon, he added, were Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, the UK, Italy, Sweden and Serbia.
Agricultural experts have frequently warned against the export of watermelon, a water-intensive crop, amid the acute shortage of water in Iran.
Expressing his disapproval regarding the high volume of Iran's watermelon exports, Reza Nourani, the head of National Agricultural Products Association of Iran, says cultivating each kilogram of watermelon requires around 286 tons of water.
"The fact that the main agricultural crops imported into Iran is wheat, which needs much less water to grow, and that the main exported agricultural product is one requiring such a high volume of water is testament to the extent of mismanagement," he was quoted as saying by the news portal of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
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 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.
Masoud Khansari, president of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, says Iran is likely to lose 70% of its agricultural lands in future.
"Experts have sounded the alarm about this grave danger but so far little attention has been paid to this challenge," he wrote for the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad.
"The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations issued in its latest report a stark warning of multiple, looming food crises, driven by conflict, climate shocks, the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and massive public debt burdens exacerbated by the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine, which has pushed food and fuel prices to accelerate in many nations. It also warned about the shortage of water resources in Iran, saying Iranian farmers use two to three times the global average of water used to cultivate corn, rice and wheat per hectare. Experts recommend the government to employ 10-year water austerity measures rather than adopting a political stance to resolve this issue."
Imports Exceed $7 Billion
Agrifood imports stood at 9.79 million tons worth $7.06 billion during the five-month period, indicating a 16.95% decline in weight, but a 7.86% growth in terms of value.
Rice worth $1.096 billion had the biggest share of imports in terms of value, followed by feed corn worth $1.09 billion, wheat worth $1.08 billion, GM soybeans worth $772.62 million and unrefined sugar worth $252.65 million.
In terms of tonnage, feed corn topped imports with 2.74 million tons, followed by wheat with 2.74 million tons, followed by GM soybeans with 1.02 million tons, rice with 898,780 tons and unrefined sugar with 468,400 tons.
Agronomic products accounted for 9.19 million tons worth $5.94 billion of total imports, down 17.07% in tonnage, but up 8.8% in value.
Horticultural products stood at 516,670 tons worth $759.37 million, down 20.44% and 1.26% in tonnage and value respectively.
Imports of livestock and poultry products hit 68,120 tons worth $212.74 million, up 68.56% and 48.9% in tonnage and value, respectively.
The veterinary sector imported 1,560 tons worth $113.81 million, up 5.41% in terms of tonnage, but down 18.87% in terms of value.
Imports by the fisheries sector amounted to 2,900 tons worth $8.31 million, down 23.58% and 17.68% in tonnage and value respectively.
The forest and rangeland sector's imports totaled 12,060 tons worth $23.14 million, down 6.68% in tonnage, but up 10.34% in value.
The export and import volumes indicate that Iran recorded an agrifood trade deficit of 6.85 million tons in tonnage and $5.46 billion in value during the period under review.
30% of Agro Production Go to Waste
A total of 130 million tons of agricultural products are harvested in Iran per year, close to 30% of which go to waste, according to the head of the National Productivity Organization of Iran.
"To produce this 30%, some 9 billion cubic meters of water are consumed and this is only part of the resources that go to waste. Add to this the energy, fuel, transportation fleet and labor costs," Mir Saman Pishvaei was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
According to the official, potable water consumption in Iran reached 11 billion cubic meters in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22).
