According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iran exported dates worth $44.15 million to Afghanistan, the UK, India, Turkey, the UAE, Malaysia, Azerbaijan and Russia in the first two months of the current Iranian year (started March 20). Earlier, the Association of Horticultural Producers blamed “unrestrained dates exports to Russia” for the recent hike in the price of the product in the domestic market. According to Iran’s Dates Association, prices have risen by 30% in the holy month of Ramadan. Dates are traditionally used by Muslims to break their fast in Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, which leads to a rise in demand. However, the Union of Food Wholesalers says prices are expected to fall by 30% to 35% as the produce of the most recent harvest enters the market in late June. More than 1 million tons of dates were domestically produced in the last Iranian year (March 2015-16), over 170,000 tons of which were exported.
