Page 53 - IRANRptOct22

Iran’s refining capacity reaches 2.2mn bpd
If a JCPOA reinstatement, which would involve the lifting of US economic sanctions on Tehran, could be achieved, Iran would be expected to quickly pick up many more ready buyers of its crude because various countries are boycotting Russian oil shipments in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Iran's refining capacity has reached 2.2mn barrels per day (bpd) with an increase of more than 400,000 bpd in the last decade, SHANA reported on July 4.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reviewed the world's refining capacity by different countries in its annual bulletin that was published last week. According to this report, Iran's refining capacity in 2021 is equal to 2.202mn bpd, up by 1,000 barrels compared to 2020.
Iran's refining capacity in 2020 was equal to 2.201mn bpd. Iran's refining capacity has increased by more than 480,000 bpd from 2011 to 2021, according to OPEC's annual bulletin report. The Islamic Republic's refining capacity in 2011 was equal to 1.715mn bpd.
OPEC said the refining capacity of Saudi Arabia was 3.3mn bpd, Venezuela 2.2mn bpd (including capacity upgrade), the UAE 1mn bpd and Iraq 1.1mn bpd in 2021.
The refining capacity of other OPEC member countries is less than 1mn bpd.
9.1.2 Agricultural sector news
Iran, Qatar said to sign world’s largest trade agreement for transfer and processing of saffron
Drought expected to deal further blow to Iran’s pistachio crop
Iran and Qatar have signed the world’s largest trade agreement for the transfer and processing of saffron, Mehr News Agency reported on September 19.
A commercial contract for 200 tonnes of Iranian saffron, with an initial value of $300mn, was reportedly concluded by Iranian and Qatari business persons. The first shipment to Qatar is due on October 1, according to the contract. The deal was struck during a meeting of Qatari Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and Iran’s Ambassador to Doha Hamidreza Dehghani, Mehr said.
In February, bne IntelliNews reported that Iranian trade officials were examining why it was that Iran's saffron exports fell some 63% y/y in the previous Persian calendar month (ended January 20).
Ali Hosseini, a board member of Iran's National Saffron Council, was reported by ILNA as mystified by the stark decline in shipments of the ‘red gold’ spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus.
Iran is by far the world’s top saffron producer, with more than 90% of its production exported to markets including Japan, Europe, the US and Canada. However, in recent years, competition from other regional saffron cultivators, including Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which have similar growing conditions, has been on the rise. The market has also been inundated with “fake saffron” from China. The product is produced in industrial environments and reconstituted to appear like the natural saffron stem. In Israel, meanwhile, there is an agritech project to produce lab-grown saffron.
Saffron is used in many industries, including the food, natural cosmetics and natural medicine industries. It is used as a dye in the textile industry. Famous chefs at Michelin-starred restaurants are known for seeking out the best saffron on the market.
The effects of drought mean Iran is expected to produce only 135,000 tonnes of pistachios in the current Persian year (ends March 20, 2023), according to Hossein Rezaei, secretary-general of the Iran Pistachio
53 IRAN Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com