96 Million Dollars Worth of Medicinal Plants Export

Deputy minister of Medicinal and Ornamental Plants and Floral Affairs of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, Mitra Majdzadeh, in an interview with an economic reporter of Fars News Agency said, “According to the data taken from the provinces of Iran, the lands under cultivation of medicinal plants were 43 thousand hectares, last year.”

“From these lands, 150 thousand tonnes of medicinal plants have been harvested.” She added.

Referring to Rosa damascena as one of the most valuable medicinal plants, Majdzadeh noted, “Out of 15 thousand hectares of lands under cultivation of Rosa damascena, about 27 thousand tonnes of wet petals have been collected.”

Deputy minister of Medicinal and Ornamental Plants and Floral Affairs of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad stated, “Cumin, henna, coriander, fennel and borage take up the largest areas under cultivation of medicinal plants in Iran, after Rosa damascena.”

Deputy minister of Medicinal and Ornamental Plants and Floral Affairs of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad stated that due to the variety of medicinal plants in our country, there are a lot of opportunities to invest on the production of these plants, she then added, “Other reasons for the increase in production of these medicinal plants are the fact that Iran has a long history of traditional medicine and that they are acceptable remedies for the treatment of diseases among Iranian people.”

“A large number of medicinal plants do not require a lot of water for cultivation and they can be cultivated in lands of the second degree of fertility as well as on the slopes.” Majdzadeh noted.

Referring to the environmental adaptability of medicinal plants to the different conditions, she added, “So many of the medicinal plants grow in adverse conditions and inhospitable soils.”

Deputy minister of Medicinal and Ornamental Plants and Floral Affairs of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad stressed that there is a great potential in Iran for the production of medicinal plants and that this can aid the export of non-oil products.”

She added, “According to the last statistical report of 2014, about 26 thousand tonnes of medicinal plants worth 96.5 million dollars have been exported.”

Majdzadeh referred to China, Japan, The USA and India as the largest producers of medicinal plants in the world and said, “Countries such as China, India, the USA and Germany are also among the biggest exporters of medicinal plants in the world.”