A total of $205 million worth of dates were exported from Iran during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2022-Jan. 20), according to the Agriculture Ministry.
“With 1.4 million tons of annual production, Iran is among the top three producers of dates in the world,” says Zahra Jalili-Moqaddam, an official with the Agriculture Ministry.
Egypt is the world’s biggest producer and Saudi Arabia is Iran’s major rival in the global date market.
“Last [Iranian] year [March 2021-22], 340,000 tons of dates were exported from Iran,” she was quoted as saying by IRIB News in a recent visit to the southern Fars Province, a major producer of dates in Iran.
Jalili-Moqaddam noted that India has the biggest share of Iran’s date exports, adding that after India, Pakistan is the biggest destination.
“Iran is the biggest exporter of dates in the world,” Chairman of the National Association of Iranian Dates Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi told Financial Tribune in an earlier interview.
On the export front, Egypt ranks second with Saudi Arabia and Tunisia sharing the third spot.
“Two of Iran’s southern neighbors, namely Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are reportedly expanding their palm-groves. This can become serious rivals to Iran’s international date market,” Farrokhi has said.