Sweet turkey from the benefit of raisins of Malekani farmers
The director of Malekan County Agricultural Jihad stated that Malekan County raisins are exported to more than 38 countries, including Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and European countries. He said that most of Malekan County raisins reach the world markets indirectly, despite the fact that Malekan farmers are They work hard to produce raisins, but the profits benefit the intermediary countries, including Turkey.
Hassan Alivand, stating that there are 50,000 hectares of agricultural land in the city of Malekan, said: There are 10,500 hectares of vineyards in the city of Malekan, of which 260,000 tons of fresh produce and 70,000 tons of dry produce annually. It is obtained so that 90% of this dry product is used as California raisins and 10% of it is used as acid raisins.
He continued: Currently, Malekan city has the first provincial rank in grape production and seven countries in the country. Malekan city has the highest level of production after Takestan city in terms of production.
Director of Malekan Agricultural Jihad, referring to the activity of 23 raisin packaging units in Malekan city with a capacity of 45,000 tons per year, said: Apart from neighboring cities, raisins are purchased from other provinces of the country and processed in Malekan city.
He said that the farmers of Malekan city are currently severely affected by currency fluctuations, market inflation and sanctions, adding that the current price of Malekan raisins is the same as last year, now the price of California raisins in Malekan city is 22,000 Tomans per kilogram. While low-quality raisins are sold at very high prices in three neighboring countries, such as Turkey.
He continued: The prices of inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides have increased many times over, while there has been no change in the prices of farmers’ raisins.
Alivand stated: This year, Maliki farmers harvested 70,000 tons of dried products and California raisins.
Referring to the main obstacles to exporting raisins from Malekan city to other countries, he said: The lack of export terminal and standard office in Malekan city is one of the most important obstacles to exporting agricultural products, including raisins, to other countries. Intermediary causes a sharp drop in raisin prices.
He added that about 35,000 tons of raisins are now in the hands of local farmers. The existence of sanctions and coronary restrictions in the current situation has caused the opportunities of the raisin market to be in the hands of middlemen. These people do not act on real prices. On the other hand, they make the return of Nimai currency difficult and an excuse.
The director of Jihad Keshavarzi of Malekan city emphasized: now the intermediaries are not individuals but neighboring countries, including the exporters of Malekan raisins, are considered as intermediaries, so that they label their brand on our farmers’ products and export them to other countries in the name of their country.