Page 52 - IRANRptFeb22

Iran earns nearly $3.9bn from agri-food exports in first nine months of Persian year
Pistachio exports from Iran decline by around one fifth to $740mn in first nine Persian calendar months
Iran’s poor wheat harvest highlighted as IGC cuts forecast for world
domestically on a massive scale at around 5.2mn tonnes per year. Local media said there were reports that potato exports have been banned.
Some premium varieties of Iranian rice hit record price highs of around Iranian rial (IRR) 1.15mn rials (around $4 on the free currency exchange market) per kilogram this week. Pakistani and Indian rice varieties were available at around $1 per kilogram.
Iran exported 6.263mn tonnes of agri-food products worth nearly $3.9bn in the first nine months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2021), Deputy Agriculture Minister Mohammad Ghorbani said in an appearance on state TV.
Pistachio was Iran’s best-selling agrifood product on overseas markets with an export value of nearly $739mn, exports of dates brought in $185mn and fresh apples $169mn, Ghorbani added.
With US sanctions curtailing Iran’s crude oil exports, industries such as agriculture have benefitted from increased state support, with officials conscious of the need to make up for oil revenue losses by generating growth in other sectors.
Across the first three quarters of the Persian year, Iranian farmers exported 795,000 tonnes of watermelons, 617,000 tonnes of fresh or chilled tomatoes, 528,000 tonnes of fresh or chilled potatoes and 284,000 tonnes of onions, shallots and garlic, data from the agriculture ministry also showed.
Figures on livestock and poultry exports recorded shipments of 443,000 tonnes valued at $406mn and exports of fish products weighing 88,000 tonnes with a worth of $159mn.
Separately, the Tehran Times reported the agriculture ministry as saying on January 26 that Iran’s farmed shrimp exports stood at $150mn in value in the Persian year to date.
Iran’s total agricultural output reached 133mn tonnes in the Persian calendar year that ended in late March 2021. Eight years ago, when the country launched a campaign to boost activity in the agriculture sector, the annual volume was only around 90mn tonnes, official data showed.
Pistachio exports from Iran declined by around one fifth in the first nine months of the current Persian year (March 21 to December 21), according to Iran’s customs office, IRICA, as cited by PressTV.
IRICA spokesman Rouhoallah Latifi was quoted on December 5 as saying that total pistachio shipments in the period amounted to nearly $738.5mn in value terms, down by 19% y/y. Shipments reached 70 destinations worldwide. China remained the largest buyer with nearly $190mn of purchases almost entirely of shelled pistachio.
India was the second biggest buyer at more than $106mn worth of purchases, with nearly $72mn spent on shelled pistachio and more than $34mn on unshelled pistachio.
Iraq, Russia, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey were listed by IRICA as the other largest customers of Iranian pistachio in the assessed period.
IRICA’s figures show that pistachio exports from Iran rose by nearly 56% in value terms to $1.1bn in the previous Persian year (ended March 20, 2021).
The International Grains Council (IGC) has cut its forecast for 2021/22 global wheat production, with a downgraded outlook for the crop in Iran a particular concern.
In its monthly update released on November 18, the inter-governmental body lowered its 2021/22 world wheat crop outlook by 4mn tonnes to 777mn tonnes.
52 IRAN Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com