Iran seeks to increase its saffron production by 20% in the next three years to meet a target set in its five-year development plan.
Iran’s annual crop production is expected to reach 97 million tons out of a total 130 million tons of agricultural output, a senior Agriculture Ministry official said on Sunday, warning of fertilizer shortages due to limited foreign currency allocations.
Iran has more than 4.2 million people engaged in farming, with the majority of them over the age of 50 and cultivating small plots of land, the country’s Statistics Center said in its latest agricultural census.
The Iranian government has lifted its curbs on rice imports amid efforts to quell domestic prices of the staple grain.
Iran’s agriculture sector grew 3.2% in the Iranian calendar year ending March 2025, driven by a 32% rise in agricultural exports and a $3 billion improvement in the sector’s trade balance, Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Qezeljeh said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the ministers of agriculture and interior to begin an urgent overhaul and implementation of a nationwide crop pattern reform plan, aimed at addressing the country’s growing climate and water resource challenges.
Iran exported $1.7 billion worth of pistachios in the calendar year to March 20, marking a 143% increase from the previous year, a senior agriculture ministry official said on Sunday.
Iran exported 214,300 tons of saffron worth $184.7 million in the past Iranian calendar year to March 20, according to an official with the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).
The deputy head of the board of trustees of Iran Pistachio Association has announced a significant increase in pistachio exports in the second half of last year.
Iran exported $5.2 billion worth of agricultural products in the past Iranian calendar year to late March, marking a 29% increase compared to the previous year, the country’s Customs Administration (IRICA) announced on Saturday.