A total of 1.1 million tons of pomegranates are expected to be produced from around 90,000 hectares across the country by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2022), according to an Agriculture Ministry official.
“Fars, Semnan, Yazd, Markazi, Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, Lorestan, South Khorasan, Kerman and Mazandaran are Iran’s main pomegranate cultivation hubs,” Zahra Jalili-Moqaddam was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official noted that last year, more than 11,943 tons of the fruit worth $5.27 million were exported from Iran, with the main destinations being Armenia, the UAE, South Korea, Japan and Switzerland.
“After India with 2.44 million tons and China with 1.6 million tons of production per year, Iran is the world’s third biggest pomegranate producer and is followed by Turkey, Afghanistan, the US, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Spain,” she added.
According to the official, a total of 6.54 million tons of pomegranates are harvested from over 500,000 hectares across the globe every year, with each kilo priced at between $0.9 and $1 in the international markets.
Iran was the leading pomegranate producer in the world up until 2019, followed by India, China, Turkey and the US.
The country has the world’s biggest germplasm of pomegranates in Yazd, which is made up of a collection of 780 genotypes of the fruit.
The official noted that the market will be adequately supplied in the runup to Yalda Night – the eve of the first day of the winter solstice.
On the occasion of the night, which usually falls from Dec. 21-22, a nocturnal celebration is observed in Iran. The event, celebrated in the country since ancient times, is called Yalda that has coincided with Dec. 21 this year.
Yalda Night is celebrated 40 days prior to the Zoroastrian Fire Festival or Sadeh and is a social occasion, as family and friends get together for an enjoyable night, dining together and reciting poetry. Dried fruits, roasted nuts and seeds, as well as fresh winter fruits are often served.