Iran, the Country with the Most Produced Pistachio in the World

Managing director of the Winter Fruits section of Horticulture Department, Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, said that Iran became the 1st producer of pistachio in the world second time in a row, and added, “Despite the consecutive droughts and the shortage of water, it has been predicted that this year, between 250 to 260 thousand tonnes of pistachio will be produced.”

Mr. Ramazan Rooeentan in an interview with IRNA’s economic reporter said on Monday, “In the last 5 years, due to droughts, lack of water and the presence of salty water, we had faced an extreme drop in the production of pistachio in 30 thousand hectares of the gardens of Yazd and Kerman provinces. This had caused the USA to become the first to produce pistachio in the world, in those years.”

He stated, “But fortunately, the Iranian producers in other provinces of the country using the following methods could prepare the conditions to eliminate the problem of water shortage in order to improve the pistachio’s function : pest control management, garden modifications, nutritional methods, modern irrigation methods such as drip irrigation and subsurface drip irrigation, sweetening of water, grafting, rejuvenating plants, and the application of new species and varieties.”

“Furthermore, using some techniques in Kerman and Yazd provinces, the function of pistachio has reached 2500 kilogram per hectare from 700 km.” He added.

He went on to say, “Last year, 240 thousand tonnes of pistachio was produced and dispatched to both the domestic and foreign markets. The necessary actions, led to Iran gaining the first place once again as the biggest producer of pistachio in the world.”

Referring to the pistachio of Iran as having the best quality in the world, he said, “According to statistics, pistachio production of the USA, due to droughts in the state of California, is less than 20 to 30 thousands tonnes in comparison to the Iranian pistachio production..”

Rooeentan explained, “At the moment, about 380 thousand hectares of the gardens in Iran are under the cultivation of pistachio, 320 thousand hectares of which are fertile and the rest, non fertile .”

“Currently, the Iranian pistachio is produced in other provinces without any problems, and apart from the increase in the function, there is a plan to expand the areas under cultivation in the provinces.” He further noted.

The managing director of the Winter Fruits Department of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad talked of the sum of the world pistachio as being one million tonnes and said, “Pistachio is mainly produced in countries such as, Iran, the USA, Turkey, China, Syria, Greece, Italy, Afghanistan, Australia and Tunisia, and the least (less than 2 thousand tonnes) is produced by Australia and Afghanistan.”

He noted that, “According to the formal statistics of  the Customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, last year, 182 thousand tonnes of pistachio was exported to more than 70 countries directly, and 170 countries indirectly. There is, of course, part of the exports which take place through passengers, which cannot be included in the Custom’s statistical reports.”

Rooeentan predicted that, “Considering amount of production, the export of Iran can reach up to 190 thousand tonnes, this year.”

 “Presently, the quality of the Iranian pistachio is higher than the standards of the European Union.” He also noted, “In the past, EU would find problems with the Iranian pistachio concerning the existence of aflatoxin, caused by some fungi diseases. However, in the current years, with the cooperation of Ministry of Health and Medical Education and  Research Institute of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, the Iranian pistachio is without any diseases nor does it have aflatoxin.”

Rooeentan considered the use of nuts in Iran per capita as acceptable and added, “At the moment, annually,  80 thousand tonnes of pistachio is used domestically, and the yearly consumption of pistachio per capita for each Iranian is approximately one kilo.”