TEHRAN – Head of Tehran Fruit and Vegetable Traders Union has said his union is planning to export over two million tons of fruits in the current Iranian calendar year (ends in March 2022), ILNA reported.

“This year, our total production will be 4.5 million tons, of which 2.5 million tons will be consumed domestically, and another two million is intended for export, and we are planning to export to Russia, Iraq, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan,” Mostafa Daraei-Nejad said.

Referring to the situation of the fruit and vegetable market, the official said: “There are about 67 items of fruits and vegetables in the market, none of which we lack. We have only 2.5 million tons of fruit production in Mazandaran province.”

He put the domestic citrus consumption in the country at 1.5 million tons annually, saying that considering the production of 2.5 million tons of the mentioned products in the country it is possible to export one million tons every year.

The value of Iran’s export of agricultural products rose nine percent during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, according to the deputy head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

Mehrdad Jamal Orounaqi, the IRICA deputy head for technical affairs, said that over 2.5 million tons of agricultural products worth more than $1.7 billion were exported in the four-month period.

The main foodstuffs and agricultural products exported during this period were tomatoes, pistachios, watermelons, tomato paste, cheese, apples, melons, potatoes, dates, and various sweets, the official stated, and named Iraq, China, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates as the main export destinations of the products.

Despite the economic sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic, and the current drought, the value of exported agricultural products has increased in value compared to the same period last year, he said and expressed hope that this upward trend will continue through taking the needed measures by the related organizations.

EF/MA