A total of 572,000 tons of fresh and dried banana worth $374.48 million were imported to Iran in the fiscal 2022-23 (ended March 20), registering a 5% and 7% fall in terms of weight and value respectively compared with the previous year.
Statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration indicate that the bananas were imported from Ecuador, the UAE, Italy, Pakistan, Turkey, China, the Philippines, Colombia and India.
Turkey topped the list of banana exporters to Iran during the period with 332,000 tons of shipments. It was followed by India with 130,000 tons. The two countries accounted for 81% of Iran’s total banana imports in terms of tonnage, IRIB News reported.
The Philippines with 63,000 tons and Pakistan with 43,000 tons came next.
Iran also produces bananas locally, mainly in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province with around 5,000 hectares of plantations.
Hormozgan, Kerman, Fars and Bushehr are other minor producers.
The Agriculture Ministry plans to expand Sistan-Baluchestan’s banana plantations by 2,000 hectares with the cooperation of private sector.
It also plans to employ modern technology in the new plantations to increase yield and quality.
Sistan-Baluchestan’s tropical climate enables the province to produce banana, mango, papaya, guava and coconut, in addition to watermelon, pomegranate, olive and citrus fruits. Harvest takes place twice a year for most of these fruits.
Bananas are among the most produced, traded and consumed fruit globally, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. More than 1,000 varieties of bananas are grown in the world, which provide vital nutrients to populations worldwide. The most traded variety is the Cavendish banana, which accounts for just under half of global production at an estimated annual production volume of 50 million tons. Bananas are particularly significant in some of the least developed, low-income and food-deficit countries, where they can contribute not only to household food security as a staple but also as a source of income generation.
On average, more than 90% of bananas for export originate from Central and South America, and the Philippines. The largest importers are the EU, the US, China, the Russian Federation and Japan.
Banana export earnings help finance food import bills, supporting the economies of major banana-producing countries.
Research in top 10 banana producing countries found that income from banana cultivation can account for around three quarters of the total monthly household income for smallholder farmers.
Due to the often harsh methods used to control irrigation and plant diseases in large-scale banana production, they could have significant negative repercussions for the environment and the health and safety of workers and local communities.
A serious threat to the industry continues to be Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4), a fungal disease affecting banana plants, which has been currently confirmed in 17 banana-producing countries. In all reported cases, once a piece of farmland has been contaminated with TR4, managing the disease becomes challenging and costly.
The global banana value chain is increasingly characterized by the direct downstream activities of large retail chains from the key importing countries. These chains operate independent of traditional fruit companies by sourcing bananas directly from growers and distributors.
