Kerman Province accounts for one-third of the country’s total date production, said the head of Iran Date Association and member of Kerman Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mining and Agriculture. Between 320,000 and 340,000 tons of date are produced in Kerman every year, Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper quoted Rashid Farrokhi as saying. Iran currently ranks second in global date production, closely following Egypt with the annual production of more than 1 million tons. Despite high production, Iran currently exports only about 200 tons of dates per year. Sistan-Baluchestan, Fars, Kerman and Khuzestan are major date producing provinces in the country.
