TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Republic of Iran stood at the 4th rank in the world in terms of apple production.
Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture for Dried Fruits Affairs Dariush Salempour made the remarks on Wednesday and stated that the country exported about 550,000 tons of tree-based apples, valued at $172 million, in the 11 months of the previous Iranian calendar year of 1401 (March 21, 2022 to February 22, 2023).
Salempour further noted that the country exported quality apples to countries like Pakistan, Iraq, India, the Russian Federation and Afghanistan in this period.
Iran had exported 985,000 tons of quality apples overseas in 1400 (ended March 20, 2022), standing at the second rank in the world after China in terms of export of tree-based apples.
Salempour noted that four million tons of quality apples were produced in the country last year (ended March 20, 2023), registering nearly a seven-percent decline as compared to a year earlier.
Some 247,000 hectares of land area has been allocated in the country for the production of apples, he said, adding that Iran ranks third in terms of land area for apple production and also 4th in the world in terms of production of varieties of tree-based apples.
West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Fars, Isfahan, Tehran, Zanjan and Hamedan provinces are the apple production hubs in the country, he said.
