A total of 13,602 tons of goods worth $19 million were exported from Malayer, a county located in Hamedan Province, in the first six months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), registering a 5% and 25% year-on-year rise in terms of weight and value respectively, according to a local official.
“In rial terms, exports registered a 44% growth,” Nasser Torkashvand was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Raisins, Vaseline, ferrosilicon, solid paraffin, non-woven fabric, steel wire and silicon dioxide were the main goods exported from Malayer.
Raisins topped the list of exported goods with 5,000 tons worth $7 million. It was exported to 18 countries.
More than 18,500 tons of raisins worth $24.2 million were exported from Malayer in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), registering a 3% and 4% decline in weight and value respectively compared with the year before, Torkashvand said earlier.
“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,” he said.
Petroleum jelly for hygienic and industrial uses, ferrosilicon, solid paraffin, steel bars, soybean, dates and textile were other products exported to 30 countries.
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 knowledge 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 make the grapes and raisins of Jowzan Valley different from other parts of the country and a top seller among consumers, Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations wrote on its website.
Over the years, the system has significantly improved the locals' living standards, while giving a boost to local tourism and in turn to 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 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 Fat’hi.
