Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.16/ Trend F.Milad
Iran will allow pistachio exports only if the domestic market is well-supplied, the Head of Export Commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines said on Saturday.
The exporters have declared their readiness to supply the domestic markets, as well, the ISNA News Agency quoted Assadollah Asgaroladi as saying.
It was announced in the past days that Iran has banned exports of pistachio in a bid to curb rising prices in the domestic market.
Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi has ordered stopping pistachio exports for 6 months in order to help regulate the prices, the Fars News Agency reported.
Iranian Customs Administration data shows that each kilogram of Iranian exquisite pistachio is currently exported at $8.2. This is while the same product is sold at around 500,000 rials (about $40 based on the official rate of USD) in the domestic market.
Iran exported some 80,000 tons of pistachio in the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2012, ISNA quoted Mohsen Jalalpour, the head of the association Iranian pistachio farmers, as saying.
China was the main importer of Iranian pistachio, accounting for 70 percent of imports, he noted.
Pistachio output is projected to hit 200,000 tons this year, he said, adding that the output stood at 180,000 tons last year.
Exports are estimated to amount to 130,000 tons in the current year, he added.
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