A total of 221,690 tons of watermelon worth $46.54 million were exported from Iran during the first month of the current Iranian year (March 21-April 20), according to the Agriculture Ministry.
In fact, watermelon topped the list of agricultural and food products exported from the country during the period both in terms of weight and value.
In terms of value, watermelon was followed by tomato worth $49.78 million, milk powder worth $30.03 million and eggs worth $26.55 million and apples with $16.96 million.
In terms of tonnage, it was followed by 108,350 tons of tomato, 37,850 tons of apples, 35,230 tons of Persian melons and 29,480 tons of dates.
Iraq, the UAE, Oman, Russia and Turkey are the main importers of Iranian watermelon.
Other customers include Afghanistan, Qatar, 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, has said cultivating each kilogram of watermelon requires around 286 tons of water.
Iraq, the UAE, Oman, Russia and Turkey are the main importers of Iranian watermelon
"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.
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.
Masoud Khansari, president of TCCIM, says Iran is likely to lose 70% of its agricultural lands in the 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 countries across the globe. 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 have recommended the government to employ 10-year water austerity measures instead of adopting a political stance to resolve this issue.
