TEHRAN - The Chairman of Iran Dried Fruit Exporters Association (IDFEA) said the country’s pistachio production is expected to increase by up to 55,000 tons in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021) compared to the previous year.

“This year's production is going to be better than last year and the output is expected to reach at least 200,000 to 230,000 tons from the last year’s 175,000 tons,” ILNA quoted Mohammad-Hassan Shams Fard as saying.

The official noted that despite the increase in production, the producers are facing some problems in exporting their products and receiving their payments.

“Sanctions have affected all of our activities, because we can hardly collect our export money; before the sanctions, Iranian traders used to have active bank accounts around the world, but this is no longer the case and this has led to problems for the exporters,” Shams Fard said.

According to the IDFEA head, China was the first destination for Iranian pistachios in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), followed by Europe in second place and Arab countries in third place.

"Currently, some of our European trade partners are taking advantage of the U.S. sanctions; for example, when we export goods, they use the excuse of banking problems to delay our payment and say that there is no possibility of formal and legal exchanges. They know that if they do not pay, nothing special will happen and Iranian businessmen will not be able to do anything.”

About the latest situation of the global market for the mentioned product market, Shams Fard said: "Last year, each ton of pistachio was sold for $8,000 and now the prices have fallen to $6,500 because the United States has lowered the prices for its products."

EF/MA