60% reduction in date exports
Ali Asghar Mousavi, Secretary General of the Iranian Date Association, said: The date harvest in Sistan and Baluchestan has been completed and the harvest of this product is currently underway in Bushehr and Fars provinces.
He added: Last year, less than 100,000 tons of dates were exported from the country, and in recent years, date exports to Iran have decreased by one third.
The Secretary General of the National Date Association, stating that Khuzestan is the last province where dates are harvested, said: The new date harvest begins in July and usually continues until mid-October.
The Secretary General of the Dates Association stated that currently the best dates are bought from farmers at an approximate price of 2 thousand to 2 thousand and 500 Tomans. Refrigerators maintain.
Mousavi added: This problem exists every year and dates bought from farmers are offered to customers at 3 times the price.
He said: The cost of each kilo of Bam Mazafati dates for the producer is 2,500 to 3,000 Tomans, while it is not possible to sell it at a reasonable price for the producer.
Mousavi, stating that in the past we had the first rank of date production in the world, said: Currently, with the production of one million tons of dates, we have the third rank of production in the world.
The Secretary General of the Iranian Dates Association stated: Due to the lack of economic efficiency, the production of dates in the country has not increased and for about 15 years, almost one million tons of dates have been produced annually.
He said that Egyptians, Saudis, Tunisians and Emirati have surpassed Iran in date exports, adding that government support in these countries for date producers has led to the supply of their products to the world for export.
Mousavi added: about 10 countries are the main producers of dates in the world.