Iran’s pistachio exports up by 143% in year to March: Official
An Iranian agriculture ministry (MAJ) official says that pistachio exports from the country rose by 143% in the calendar year to late March.
Mohammad Mehdi Borumandi, who lead’s MAJ’s horticulture operations, said on Sunday that total pistachio production in Iran had exceeded 0.3 million metric tons in the year to March 20.
Borumandi said that pistachio exports had generated some $1.7 billion worth of revenues for Iran in the past calendar year.
He said that pistachio remains Iran’s top horticulture product with some 0.65 million hectares of land under cultivation of the crop, which he said is the largest in the world.
Borumandi said that the cultivation area for pistachios in Iran has increased by 83% over the past 11 years, adding that the southeastern province of Kerman remains the country's largest producer of the nut.
He said that the number of direct jobs in the Iranian pistachio production sector has reached 0.35 million, adding that the industry generates an average of $1.5 billion in foreign currency revenues for the country each year.
Experts say Iran could have earned more revenues from pistachio exports last calendar year if the MAJ had updated its food safety standards to comply with European Union laws.
Borumandi was in Brussels last month to hold meetings with related EU officials, said a report on MAJ's website, which described the outcome of the meetings as positive.
The report said that both the EU and the MAJ have agreed that Iran’s pistachio exports to EU countries should increase.
Iranian customs office figures show that the country exported some $5.2 billion worth of agricultural products in the year to March, up 29% from the year before.
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