Investigating the barriers to Iranian dried fruit exportsn
In recent years, the trend of Iranian dried fruit exports has increased towards bulk exports so that Iranian traders are satisfied with short-term and risky profits and Iranian products are exported with low added value despite good quality and the main profit reaches other countries.
Here are some important points about Iranian dried fruit exports that are interesting:
Iran’s dried fruit exports are based on pistachios, raisins, dates and recently figs.
The European Union is the world’s largest dried fruit market; It accounts for more than 40% of total world imports.
In recent years, the trend of Iranian dried fruit exports has increased towards bulk exports so that Iranian traders are satisfied with short-term and risky profits and Iranian products, despite good quality, are valuable.
Exports of small quantities should be exported to other countries. Iranian dried fruits are exported to most parts of the world, including Europe, Russia, China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Australia and other countries.
473930000 kg worth 1729885955 dollars and in the year 96; We had 516683315 kilos worth 1686507365 dollars worth of dried fruit exports.
Lack of products, lack of export bonuses to exporters, delivery of export currencies and heavy taxes are among the problems of Iran’s dried fruit export development.
Today, export development is one of the most important economic programs of developing countries, especially single-product countries based on oil, while Iranian nuts such as pistachios, saffron, dates, figs, raisins, barberry, almonds, etc. are one of It is the main non-oil export of Iran, which has many comparative advantages in the country’s climate and can be very profitable. This will create currency and create a stable economy for the country, and on the other hand, by creating employment for the youth of this region, it will help the growth of the country’s industry and economy.
Expert planning and government support to increase production due to the water shortage situation in Iran, in addition to the need to increase private sector investment, while the sector needs to develop for years, problems such as monopoly exports, intermediation and the lack of domestic brands to export exports. Iranian dried fruits have hit the world markets.
In recent years, the trend of Iranian dried fruit exports has increased towards bulk exports so that Iranian traders are satisfied with short-term and risky profits and Iranian products, despite good quality, are exported with little added value and the main profit reaches other countries.
Export status of Iranian dried fruit products
The basis of Iran’s dried fruit exports is pistachios, raisins, dates and recently some figs; Exports of other goods such as walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, etc. are less than other products that are not seen in the statistics. Therefore, the total export of Iranian nuts is based on these three products: pistachios, raisins and dates.
Unfortunately, this year is a critical year for nuts because in the first year most of the trees were damaged and the yield has dropped sharply.
For example, the Iranian pistachio crop, which was 250,000 tons to 180,000 tons in previous years, is expected to not be more than 60,000 or 70,000 tons this year, as well as the raisin crop, which was harvested up to 230,000 tons in previous years. We will not have good statistics for this year and the exact damage to walnut, almond and fig crops is not known.
This is the situation of the product in 1997, and on the other hand, the sanctions on banking transactions have not been resolved yet, and it is difficult to export, and also exchange rate fluctuations are very disturbing for exports. Because the exporter buys goods based on the exchange rate of 6300 Tomans, how can he transfer the currency received from foreign buyers to the Central Bank at the price of 42000 Tomans.
Target countries for Iranian dried fruit exports
The EU is the world’s largest dried fruit market; It accounts for more than 40% of total world imports. The volume of dried fruit imports to Europe is constantly increasing. The outlook for dried fruit imports in Europe has been positive for a long time and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.
Iranian nuts are exported to most parts of the world, including Europe, Russia, China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Australia and other countries. The main export figures of dried fruits are: pistachios and kernels, raisins, dates and dried figs.
These four items have the most exports and foreign exchange, respectively.
Obstacles and problems in the development of Iranian dried fruit exports
Lack of products
The biggest challenge in dried fruit exports is the shortage of products; That is, as long as there is a product, the exporter has the power to export, but when the product is low, exports also decrease. So the biggest challenge is product shortages.
Sanctions and currency problems
Among the other problems of exporters is bringing foreign exchange from exports, which with US sanctions, has been receiving its export currency for many years with many problems and in different ways, and because it can not be brought to Iran to people who have imported goods, and The central bank does not give them currency. Exporters sell their currency to those people and put the money they receive back into their export work cycle and export.
The Ministry of Finance, the tax office, had been causing problems for exporters for several years, demanding heavy taxes from them, saying that the dollar rate at which you exported the goods was not yours and was a recycled profit, so you had to pay taxes. The Court of Administrative Justice and the Parliament were convened and the Court of Administrative Justice ruled in favor of the exporters and considered the action of the Ministry of Finance illegal and again the Ministry of Finance did not accept and disturbed the exporters until after years the Parliament announced that any duties and Or the tax on export goods is prohibited and the currency from the export belongs to the exporter and he can sell it at any price he wants.
Delivery of export currency to the government
One of the export problems in the past months was that the exporters were busy, but suddenly in late April, the government announced that all the country’s currencies had become one rate and the new rate for all currencies was 42,000 rials per dollar. Exporters must also provide the export currency to the banking system, otherwise their currency will be considered smuggled and their export exemption will be revoked. You can see that this issue was announced when the exporters bought the goods for 60,000 to 65,000 riyals in dollars and sent them abroad. How can they bring the currency and give the price of 42,000 riyals to the government, that is, pay about 30% loss, and today Despite announcing 42,000 rials for every dollar, gardeners are not only unwilling to lower their prices, but also raise prices and do not sell.
Pistachio export competition between Iran and the United States
Iran still ranks first in the world in pistachio exports; Although US production has increased, the US must legally keep 30 percent of its products for next year for legal reasons. Also, despite more production, the United States has not yet been able to catch up with Iran in exports.
High US production is due to the mechanization of agriculture and horticulture; On the other hand, drip irrigation in the United States and water drowning in Iran, which due to water shortages, many Iranian gardens have dried up or are drying up. In the United States, about 3 tons of crop is harvested per hectare, while the best Iranian orchards produce 900 kilograms per hectare; So the United States can set prices up to three times lower than we do. However, customers who consume Iranian pistachios do not like American pistachios; Because their pistachios are dry and do not have the fat and taste of Iranian pistachios.
Solutions and requests from the government to develop dried fruit exports
If the government wants to have exports, it must see how other countries act on exports, so that they can do the same so that exports can prosper.
We demand that if the government can not help the export, it should not have anything to do with the exporters, and they should not make decisions and restrictions overnight, and they should not be obliged to implement the letter section from the next day. And these are called domestic sanctions. We, who suffer from foreign sanctions, must also endure domestic sanctions. Summary The government should give up on exporters and leave it to them. They know the way forward.
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Finally we must say that:
One of the best-selling Iranian products in the world is Iranian dried fruit. About 12 million people are employed in the country’s dried fruit sector, of which 3 million work in orchards, 3 million in packaging workshops and the rest in other parts. On the other hand, considering the potential of the country in the production of agricultural products, especially nuts such as pistachios, saffron, dates, raisins, almonds, etc., which have a long history in the production and export of these products to other countries in Iran, this part of Non-oil exports can be one of the important foreign exchange resources of the country for the economic development of the country and if it is seriously considered, it has significant capabilities in order to grow and promote the national economy. Issues such as improving packaging methods and implementing supportive and incentive policies to increase the competitiveness of these products internationally are among the most important factors that should be considered.
The government’s economic team must, above all, think of ways to increase non-oil exports. As food has not been a sanction against Iran in the past, the export of nuts because it is a food subset can bring currency to the country in the face of sanctions. On the other hand, due to the potential that exists in the discussion of nuts, if the right conditions are created, it can increase non-oil exports. It is necessary to seriously plan and invest in the production and processing of nuts in order to regain Iran’s leading position in the export of these products, especially pistachios, which has weakened in the last ten years.
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