BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 9. The Central Union of Rural and Agricultural Cooperatives of Iran has set a target of increasing the export of agricultural products to the neighboring countries located around Iran, said Rouhollah Latifi, an official of the union, Trend reports.
Latifi said that Iran’s border provinces have a lot of potential for exporting agricultural products, thanks to their proximity and low transportation costs.
He added that the union is trying to cut out the middlemen who take a large share of the profits from the farmers.
Latifi also reported that Iran’s agricultural and food exports rose by 24 percent in value and 11 percent in volume in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through November 21, 2023), reaching 5.17 million tons worth $3.67 billion.
Meanwhile, Iran’s overall non-oil exports reached $32.2 billion in value and more than 90 million tons in volume in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through November 21, 2023).
Compared to the same period of the previous Iranian year, the value of non-oil exports decreased by 1.6 percent, while the volume increased by 27 percent.
Iran’s non-oil exports do not include crude oil, mazut, and white oil, which are subject to US sanctions that prevent Iran from exporting them freely. Therefore, Iran has been focusing on increasing its non-oil exports to cope with the economic pressure.
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