More than one million tons of dates will be produced this Iranian year (started March 21), said the general director of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits Department of Agricultural Jihad Ministry. “About 240,000 hectares of palm groves in the provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan, Fars, Kerman and Khuzestan are currently under cultivation, with the average yield of 5 tons per hectare,” IRNA quoted Abolghasem Hassan Pour as saying. Iran currently ranks second in global date production, closely following Egypt with the annual production of 1.4 million tons. Despite high production, Iran currently exports hardly 200 tons of dates per year, which according to Hassan Pour is due to declining foreign demand.
