$4m Allocated for Revival of Palm Trees in Shadegan

Some 170 billion rials ($4 million) have been earmarked in the current fiscal budget to revive the palm trees of Shadedan in the southern Khuzestan Province, the government spokesperson said.
Pointing to the fact that palm trees around the Maroun and Jarrahi rivers have dried up due to water shortage, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht added that there are two ways of transferring water to Shadegan, Mehr News Agency reported.
One way, he explained, is to transfer water from Karoun River Watershed to Maroun and Jarrahi rivers, and the second is to do the same through the 47-kilometer water canal built to direct water from Karoun River to dust storm hotspots in the area.
The livelihood of a majority of people in Shadegan depends on the city’s 10,000 palm tree orchards and businesses created by date production and exports. 
According to the chairman of the National Association of Iranian Dates, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the world’s biggest producers of dates with 1.4 million tons, 1.2 million tons and 1.1 million tons per year respectively.
“Yet, Iran is the biggest exporter of the crop,” Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi told Financial Tribune in an interview last year, adding that Egypt ranks second with Saudi Arabia and Tunisia sharing the third spot.
Tunisia ranks seventh in production, but is the third biggest exporter of dates.