Iran’s exports of apple fell by nearly a half in volume terms in the past calendar year, according to a senior official at the country’s agriculture ministry (MAJ).
MAJ’s head of non-tropical fruit department Dariush Salempour said on Tuesday that apple exports from Iran had reached 0.55 million metric tons (mt) in the 11 months to Februray 19.
Salempour said that the figure was a major decline from the calendar year to late March 2022 when Iran became the second largest supplier of apple in the world after China with some 0.985 million mt of exports.
The official said, however, that total apple production in Iran in the year to March 20 reached nearly four million mt, down 7% compared to the previous year mainly because of an earlier than expected cold spell that affected the crop.
He said the total area of lands dedicated to apple farming in Iran has increased to 247,000 hectares.
“Iran is the third country in the world in terms of the area of apple farms and is the fourth largest producer of various types of apples,” said Salempour.
MAJ’s department for trade development announced on Tuesday that it had ordered a removal of all curbs on exports of apple and orange from Iranian borders as of early April.