TEHRAN- Iran exported 56,298 tons of pistachio worth $405.04 million to 57 countries during the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20), IRIB reported.

As reported, the annual export indicates a 55.7 percent fall in value and a 58.4 percent drop in weight, year on year.

Russia with 7,329 tons of imports was the top export destination for Iranian pistachio during the past year. India with 7,139 tons came next, followed by Iraq, the UAE, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Germany, Turkey, and Tajikistan, respectively.

Iran’s pistachio exports have been on the decline since the Iranian calendar year 1386 (ended on March 2008), when exports reached 265,000 tons. 

Although Iran is mostly known for its vast hydrocarbon resources, there are some other precious products that people all around the world put the Iranian brand on and appreciate greatly, one such product is Iranian “green gold” or pistachio.

Cultivation of pistachios in Iran dates back to the Achaemenid period or the fifth century B.C; Like the great dynasty, the Islamic Republic was the world’s unrivaled, leading producer of pistachios for a long time, with southeastern Kerman province being the hub of production for so-called green gold.

Over the past decade, climate change has caused severe drought in Iran, leading to 85 percent of the country being classified as arid or semi-arid. The decline in annual average rainfall and shortage of surface water has forced farmers to dig more wells to pump water from underground reserves.

The situation is the same in Kerman province, which accounts for 70 percent of Iran’s pistachio production.

MA