TEHRAN, Iran. Dec.23
Trend:
Iran has the capacity to increase fruit export to neighbor countries, board member of Iran’s Orchard Owners Union Mojtaba Shadlou told Trend.
A major part of Iran's fruits have been exported to Iraq, Afghanistan, India, the Persian Gulf states, Russia, and the Central Asian countries in recent years, Shadlou noted.
Speaking about the issue with Russia returning back Iran's bell peppers, Shadlou said there was a problem with pesticides used for their cultivation. This resulted in 'bad reputation' spreading across other Iran's importers.
"Our problem wasn't with the returned goods, but with how this whole matter was handled. Now buyers of Iran's products think the Islamic Republic is using harmful pesticides," he said.
Shadlou pointed out that Iran has high capacity for fruit export, while the domestic consumption has declined.
According to statistics, Iran is producing 24 million tons of fruits a year, and is capable of exporting about 50 percent of it abroad.