Iran ahead of US in world pistachio market

Iran is ahead of the US as far as the amounts of their pistachio exports are concerned, a senior Iranian official says. Reza Fotouhi, director general of the Agriculture Ministry’s Office for Fruit Affairs, noted that Iran’s lead comes despite the fact that the Iranian pistachio is more expensive than the US pistachio.

Fotouhi said that Iran has exported over 95,000 tonnes of pistachio during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year, which ends on March 20.

The value of Iran’s pistachio exports during this period amounted to $770 million, which shows nearly a 30-percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year, Mehr news agency quoted Fotouhi as saying on Saturday.

Fotouhi said that the value of Iran’s pistachio exports is expected to hit $1 billion by the end of the current Iranian year.  He did not mention any details about the amount of US pistachio export.

Fotouhi’s comments come as reports over recent years have claimed that Iran is facing a tough challenge from the US to maintain its lead in the world pistachio market.

Source : presstv