Financial Tribune- Some 96,000 tons of pistachios worth $852 million were exported from Iran in the nine months since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21, 2017), Deputy Agriculture Minister Abdolmehdi Bakhshandeh told Mehr News Agency.

According to Chairman of Iran Pistachio Association Mohsen Jalalpour, Iran is the second biggest producer of pistachio after the US and the top exporter of the product.

Jalalpour, who is also former president of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, had said in the last fiscal year (March 2016-17) Iran exported 135,000 tons of the crop worth around $1.2 billion.

He expects pistachio production to reach 235,000 tons this year and register more than a 38% rise compared with last year�s 170,000 tons.

According to Deputy Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mojtaba Khosrotaj, Iran supplies more than 50% of the world pistachio market.

The US, Ukraine, the UAE, Italy, Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland, France, Poland, Sweden, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Thailand, Japan, Romania and Hong Kong are among the main buyers of Iranian pistachio.

Water shortage and climate change are affecting Iran�s pistachio orchards.

According to Jalalpour, between 8,000 and 12,000 hectares of Iran�s pistachio orchards are lost every year.