The latest hike in date export tariffs will hurt producers the most and run counter to the goal set for the country’s economy this year, i.e. encouraging production, the deputy head of Iranian Exporters Association said.
“Now that oil exports are facing serious hurdles due to US sanctions, I wonder why policymakers are creating major trade barriers in the way of non-oil exports,” Mohammad Reza Farshchian added.
As per the new directive of Market Regulation Headquarters, date exporters are required to pay tariffs on shipments ranging from 50,000 to 80,000 rials (37-59 cents) per kilogram or 30% of the rial value of the product, depending on the type of dates.
The imposition of higher export tariff is aimed at reducing the prices of dates in Iran’s local market, IRNA reported.
Farshchian noted that exports of date generate about $500 million annually and the new tariffs are bound to reduce the figure this year.
According to Siamak Shahriari, a senior member of Dried Fruits and Nuts Exporters’ Association, Iran produces more than 1 million tons of dates annually, of which between 70-80% are consumed domestically and 20-30% are exported,.
“Those who have issued this communiqué have decided to directly interfere in the export market by imposing duties rather than regulating the local market. The rise in the prices of dates is due to the depreciation of national currency against the US dollar just like the consumer inflation of all other products. In fact, exporters have been made a scapegoat for what happened [in the domestic date market],” he said.
Shahriari said dates exported from Iran are of low demand in the domestic market, as semi-soft and dry dates account for the largest share of exports whereas Iranians consume mostly soft dates.
“The decision of Market Regulation Headquarters was applicable to exports of dates during the holy month of Ramadan when consumption increases. This is while the bylaw communicated to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration does not mention this point as if it is a permanent arrangement,” he said.
Demand goes up, as prices consequently tend to do, every year during the holy month of Ramadan since date is a staple used to break fasting by Muslims. This year, in particular, besides higher demand during Ramadan, prices also skyrocketed in line with runaway inflation in Iran.
Iran produces more than 1 million tons of dates annually, of which 70-80% are consumed domestically and 20-30% are exported
“The 30% rise in export tariffs should not be applied to the prices of dates since competitors, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Pakistan, sell their products at lower prices. Therefore, farmers are the ones who have to pay the higher tariffs by reducing the prices of their products,” he said.
Shahriari noted that the new date crop will be available in two months.
“With the arrival of new dates, last year's crops won’t be good for exports, hence farmers and exporters will be left holding unsold products thanks to the new directive,” he said.
“Date exports last year hit record levels. Apparently this directive is aimed at punishing Iranian exporters and rewarding foreign competitors like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt.”
Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi, chairman of the National Association of Iranian Dates, told Financial Tribune in an earlier interview that Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the world's biggest producers of date with an average annual production of 1.4 million tons, 1.2 million tons and 1.1 million tons respectively.
"Yet, Iran is the biggest exporter of the crop in the world," Farrokhi said, adding that Egypt ranks second while Saudi Arabia and Tunisia share the third spot in the export front.
Every year, Iran exports about 20% of overall production, he added.
Per capita date consumption in Iran is 3 kilograms (per year).
According to Eskandar Zand, an advisor to agriculture minister, date production in Iran has increased by 18% in the last 10 years. The average increase on the global scale over the same period has been at 10%.
“Land under date cultivation in the world has increased by 10% during the last decade while the area of Iran’s palm-groves has grown by 5% during the same period,” he said.
Ebrahim Pourheydari, the deputy head of the National Association of Iranian Dates, said Russia, India, Canada, East Asia and some European countries are among the main destinations for Iran's date exports.
Abolqasem Hassanpour, a former director general of Agriculture Ministry’s Tropical and Subtropical Fruits Department, also told Financial Tribune in a separate interview that 230 hectares of date plantations in Iran produce more than 12 types of the product.
In each hectare, one direct and 0.5 indirect jobs are created, he said, adding that date cultivation has created about 350,000 jobs in Iran.
According to Hassanpour, Sistan-Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Kerman, Fars, Bushehr, Khuzestan, Ilam, Kermanshah, Yazd, South Khorasan and Isfahan top the list of Iranian provinces that cultivate dates.
