About 24,000 tons of pistachios were exported from the county of Rafsanjan, located in Kerman Province, mainly to European countries during Sept. 23-Nov. 15, 2015, says Seyyed Mahmoud Abtahi, a member of the board of directors of Iran Pistachio Association. According to the official, the unprocessed exported pistachios are toasted and packaged by importing countries and then sold at higher prices, a process which if taken up by domestic producers will both create considerable added value and employment opportunities. Abtahi says about 100,000 tons of fresh pistachios were harvested in Rafsanjan during the seven-month period ending October 22, IRNA reported. Rafsanjan is one of Iran’s main pistachio production and export hubs. Iran’s total pistachio production by the end of September stood at more than 220,000 tons, which indicated an increase of 20,000 tons compared to last year.
