A member of the board of directors of the Iranian Dried Fruit Exporters Union examined the most important events affecting the price of pistachios and the future prospects of the price of this long-distance non-oil export of the country.
Speaking to Tasnim’s economic correspondent, Muzaffar Mohammadi said that 10 important factors have brought a bright future to the Iranian pistachio market. “The first important event that can have positive effects on the Iranian pistachio market is Iran’s membership in the regional union Eurasia is from the 26th of October this year. As a temporary agreement, the arrangements for a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Union will be implemented from November 25, and 502 items of goods, including pistachios, will be exported from Iran without tariffs.
As a result of the agreement, pistachio export tariffs will be lifted for Eurasian Union member states including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, according to a member of the board of directors of the Iranian Dried Fruit Exporters Union. It will be exported to these countries.
He cited prices announced by Paramount USA as the second factor, adding that Paramount Agricultural Holding of the United States recently increased the price of pistachios by $ 1.4, and that Chinese people are forced to consume pistachios due to the high price announced by the company. Buy from Iran and this is effective in increasing the price of this product in the world.
Mohammadi emphasized in stating the third factor: Another important factor that is an effective factor in the growth of the price of Iranian pistachios is the application of a 45% tariff for imports from the United States by China. China, the largest buyer of American pistachios, has pursued strong anti-American policies due to US policy of selling weapons to Taiwan, which has been unprecedented to date, with a 45 percent tariff on US imports. As a result, it seems that Iranian pistachios will be the main alternative to American pistachios for China, and the increase in export prices with the help of increasing demand for our country’s pistachios is likely to be influenced by this factor.
“Fortunately, American pistachios are not popular with Indian buyers, and the United States intends to supply most of this product to the Iranian market,” he said. In this regard, given that India has a population of more than one billion and 350 million people, it will create significant demand for Iranian pistachios, and this growth in demand will also increase prices.
The member of the board of directors of the Iranian Dried Fruit Exporters Union, in his fifth statement, pointed to the growth of demand for pistachio consumption in the United States following widespread propaganda in the United States and said: The country is growing, so American traders seem to be exporting less pistachios to other countries. Therefore, it can be expected that the countries that buy pistachios from the United States will have to supply the pistachios they need from Iran, and this will mean an increase in the demand for Iranian pistachios and, as a result, higher prices.
The pistachio exporter added: “The next issue that can be considered as the sixth factor affecting the growth of pistachio prices in Iran is the lifting of pistachio import tariffs to China from 27% to 5%, so that 12% tolls for importing this product to China.” Customs and 15% tax were collected, which has been reduced to 5%.
He discussed the seventh issue of foreign exchange obligations of exporters of nuts and dried fruits and added: “Following the meeting of the representatives of the Union of Exporters of Nuts and Dried Fruits with the Central Bank, the problem of foreign exchange obligations (transfer of foreign exchange from exports to Nima system) was resolved. Based on the free exchange rate, the Central Bank-approved exchanges will be able to meet the currency commitment of exporters, which is expected to increase demand and purchases from major exporters for pistachio exports. Thus, with increasing demand and purchases from large and major exporters, exports will continue to flourish as before, and we will have to wait for the market to grow and then stimulate prices.
According to Mohammadi, the eighth issue affecting the price of pistachios is that according to the information provided by the Pistachio Association and Jihad Keshavarzi of Kerman province, pistachio farmers and gardeners will not launch their harvested products at once this year. In this way, the gradual supply of pistachios to the market will prevent prices from falling.
A member of the board of directors of the Iranian Dried Fruit Exporters Union mentioned a 30% decrease in the volume of production of smiling natural hazelnut pistachios compared to previous forecasts as the ninth factor and said: As a result, the production of smiling natural hazelnut pistachios is about 30 percent lower than previously expected. For this reason, we can predict the growth of prices in the market.
He said that the launch of certificates of deposit and futures contracts for pistachios in the Iranian Commodity Exchange are among the factors affecting the realization of pistachio prices in export markets and specified in this regard: The harvest time is by the farmer until it is exported by the trader. As the pistachio storage of farmers in stock exchange warehouses and the requirement to comply with the standards approved by the stock exchange makes foreign customers more confident in buying quality pistachios from Iran, and this can provide a positive signal to the price of pistachios. . Because with this transparent trading mechanism, brokers who reduce the quality of exported pistachios are eliminated, and exporting traders confidently export better quality pistachios by buying from the stock exchange.
The member of the board of directors of the Iranian Dried Fruit Exporters Union said that pistachio is one of the strategic products of Kerman province. Regarding the export of this product, he said: The reason for this is the high advantages of producing this product in Kerman province. Pistachio, the most important export agricultural product that earns significant foreign exchange in the country, has a bright future this year, and considering the increase in crop yields this year, Iran and especially Kerman province is a major competitor for American pistachios.
