Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 24
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
Date output in Iran is projected to reach 1.236 million tons this Iranian year (started March 21), said Masoud Latifian, director general of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits Department at Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, the ministry said in a message.
He said that every person in Iran consumes 5-7 kg of dates per year.
Last year, 250,000 tons of dates worth $249 million were exported to 85 countries, he noted.
He added that Iran ranks 2nd or 3rd in terms of planting and production of dates, while the country ranks 5th in the world in terms of date exports.
He noted that 11.3 percent of the total global exports of dates account for Iran.
Latifian said that it is important to apply new methods in the production of high-quality dates in order to expand their exports.
As much as 18 percent of dates are produced in South Kerman Province, 15 percent in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, 14 percent in Bushehr and Kerman provinces each, 13 percent in Fars Province, and 12 percent in Khuzestan and Hormozgan provinces each.