Pistachio production and exports were halved in the last Iranian year (March 2022-23) due to a wide range of reasons, including drought and extreme weather, according to Arsalan Qasemi, the head of the Agriculture Commission of Iran Chamber of Cooperatives.
“We lost more than 90% of the output in Kerman Province [the main pistachio producing region in Iran],” he was quoted as saying by IRIB News.
Besides problems in the production sector, the export front also faces obstacles, the most important of which is the mandate for traders to sell their export earnings to the Central Bank of Iran at prices lower than the market rate, he added.
Blasting CBI for its wrong move, he said the mandate is the most important obstacle faced by exporters.
Qasemi noted that “weak economic diplomacy” is another problem when it comes to exports.
“We need strong diplomacy and presence in different markets, which is non-existent at the moment. Iran’s rivals in pistachio production, namely the United States and Turkey, pursue this policy properly, but Iran lags in this regard,” he added.
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, 56,298 tons of pistachio worth $405.04 million were exported from Iran in the fiscal 2022-23 (ended March 20), registering a 58.4% and 55.7% fall in terms of weight and value respectively compared with the year before.