Iran produced close to 1.2 million tons of dates in the last Iranian year that ended on March 20, 2017, almost as much as the year before, the chairman of the National Association of Iranian Dates said.
Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi also told the Financial Tribune that close to 20% of overall production, worth around $300 million, was exported to Europe, North America, the Far East and Russia, registering a 2% increase compared to the previous year.
According to the official, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the world's biggest producers of dates with 1.4 million tons, 1.2 million tons and 1.1 million tons per year respectively. Among all producers though, Iran is the leading exporter of the crop, followed by Egypt.
The official said more work needs to be done to raise awareness about them among potential investors to develop a sustainable industry in Iran.
Farrokhi noted that the government has a five-year plan to increase the share of exports from local production to 30%.
"For this, we have started working on India and China as our new markets and we've already gained some success," he said.
source: financialtribune.com
