Unrestrained date exports to Russia are to blame for the unreasonable prices in the domestic market, Nozar Negahdari, managing director of the Association of Horticultural Producers, said. Last week, Ali Asghar Mousavi, the head of Iran’s Date Association, announced that date prices have risen by 30% in the holy month of Ramadan. Average per capita consumption of dates in Iran is one kilogram and around 500,000 tons of the fruit are consumed annually, ISNA quoted Mousavi as saying. Dates are traditionally used by Muslims to break their fast in Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. As a result, demand for the product rises during the period. According to the Agricultural Jihad Ministry, more than 1 million tons of dates were domestically produced in the last fiscal year (March 2015-16), over 170,000 tons of which were exported.
