BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 17. The fruit consumption in Iran for the current Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023), has decreased by 50 percent, compared to previous years, the head of the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Traders in Tehran Mostafa Daraei-Nejad told ILNA, Trend reports.
According to Daraei-Nejad, in the past years, on average Iranians bought at least 2 kg of fruit per day. Currently, citizens buy the fruit by number. If this process continues, Iranian farmers in will face serious losses, because fruit cultivation in Iran has increased by 1.5 times in the current Iranian year, compared to the last Iranian year.
“On the other hand, there is a serious decrease in Iran's fruit exports. For example, one of Iran's main markets for fruit exports was Iraq, but it has already increased the duty on fruit imports. This means that the export of fruits and vegetables to Iraq is not economically profitable for Iran,” he added.
The official also pointed out that in other countries, those engaged in the export of agricultural products are supported by the states. This results in exporters of the countries showing interest in exporting agricultural products.
However, exporters in Iran are not supported by the state for exporting agricultural products.
The current prices of some fruits in Tehran markets under Iran’s official exchange rate (42,000 rials/USD):
1 kg of cherries - 250,000-300,000 rials (about $6-$7)
1 kg of pineapple - 7-8 million rials (about $166-$190)
1 kg of figs - 150,000-200,000 rials (about $3.5-$4.7)
1 kg of grapes - 150,000-500,000 rials (about $3.5-$12)
1 kg of strawberries - 400,000-600,000 rials (about $9.5-$14)
1 kg of apricots - 200,000-300,000 rials (about $4.7-$7)
1 kg of apples - 300,000-400,000 rials (about $7-$9.5)
1 kg of peaches - 150,000-200,000 rials (about $3.5-$4.7)
1 kg of watermelon - 30,000-40,000 rials (about $0.7-$0.95)