Financial Tribune - For the last 15 years, Iran�s total production of dates has stood at 1 million tons per annum while domestic demand is 600,000 tons, the secretary-general of the National Association of Iran�s Dates said.

�The 400,000-ton surplus is exported or fed to livestock,� Ali Asghar Mousavi was also quoted as saying by Mizan Online News Agency affiliated to the Iranian Judiciary.

He added that Iran�s dates export does not exceed 80,000 tons annually. North America, Europe and the neighboring countries are export destinations for Iranian dates.

�Russia and the UAE are the biggest markets of our dates. However, dates exported to the UAE are re-packaged and shipped to other countries such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh,� he said.

Iran ranks among the top three dates producing countries worldwide. Different varieties of dates are grown in Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Fars, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces.

The report also noted that Iranian dates are sold in the market at prices over 10 times more compared to those traded at palm-groves. They are bought at about 18,000 rials ($0.4) per kilo from farmers but are sold at 200,000 rials ($5.3) in the market by middlemen.