Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.17/ Trend F.Milad/
Deputy Director of Iran'sTrade Promotion Organization Kioumars Fathollah Kermanshahi announced that Iran has lifted the ban on pistachio exports.
Iran annually produces 150-200,000 tons of pistachio, the Mehr News Agency quoted Fathollah Kermanshahi as saying.
Iran and the US are the main producers of pistachio, he added.
By putting a ban on pistachio exports, Tehran will lose its target markets to Washington, Fathollah Kermanshahi explained.
Assadollah Asgaroladi, Head of Export Commission of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines, said on Saturday that Iran will allow pistachio exports only if the domestic market is well-supplied.
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 that Iran has banned exports of pistachio in a bid to curb rising prices in the domestic market.
Iran's First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi ordered stopping pistachio exports for 6 months to help regulate the prices, the Fars News Agency reported.
Iran's Customs Administration data shows that each kilogram of Iran's 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, head of the association Iranian pistachio farmers, as saying.
China was the main importer of Iran's 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.