KERMANSHAH – Kermanshah is to host the 4th edition of an exclusive exhibition-conference on Iraq market in the next two weeks.

The five-day event, which will kick off on September 16, is aimed to increase the volume of non-oil exports from this western province, and will host some 1,200 Iranian and Iraqi trade officials. The event includes a two-day conference at the end of which several agreements may be signed between the two countries. Some 200 Iranian companies will showcase their products, including foodstuffs, building materials, and medical equipments, in the exhibition section. Kermanshah’s annual export is expected to hit $1 billion this year (ends March 20, 2007).

Export of aromatic, medicinal plants down 9.7%

TEHRAN – Some 6,997 tons of aromatic and medicinal plants, valued at $36.37 million, was exported from Iran in the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 21-July 22).

This showed 9.7% decrease in terms of weight compared to the corresponding period last year. Italy, Taiwan, the UAE, Pakistan, and Germany were the main importers of these plants in the said period. Saffron ($27.5 million), caraway ($2.52 million), tobacco ($1.95 million), licorice, and coriander accounted for the lion’s share of the exported volume.

Chaharmahal-o Bakhtiari produces 484m lit of mineral water annually

SHAHR-E KORD, Chaharmahal-o Bakhtiari Prov. – Some 484 million liters of mineral water is produced in this southern Iranian province every year, a local planning official said Saturday.

Currently, there are eight mineral water packaging centers across the province, Abbasi stated, adding the industry has created over 400 jobs for the locals. “The total investment in setting up these centers reaches Rls.289.16 billion (nearly $31.4 million).” Meanwhile, he said, 850 more jobs will be created as new mineral water packaging firms are established in the next few months. The main mineral water packaging centers in the province are located in the cities of Shalamzar, Deymeh, Saman, Doab, Joneqan, and Hafshejan.

Europe, main importer of Markazi Prov. pistachios

ARAK, Markazi Prov. – Markazi Province exports 70% of its pistachios to the European states, head of the provincial Agricultural Jihad Department said.

The annual pistachio production in this central Iranian province exceeds 6,000 tons, Nader Ebrahimi told Mehr News Agency on Saturday. Zarandiyeh, near Saveh, 120 kilometers south of Tehran, accounts for more than 50% of the province’s pistachio production, he added. “Pistachio gardens comprise 10,000 hectares of the total 48,000 hectares of gardens across the province,” he said, putting Markazi Province at 6th place in pistachio production after Kerman, Yazd, Khorasan, Fars, and Semnan provinces. “We account for 52% of the country’s annual 820-million-dollar export of pistachios,” he claimed.

Cotton farming coverage in Parsabad shrinks 46%: official

ARDEBIL – The cotton farming coverage in Parsabad, north of the provincial capital Ardebil, has shrunk by 46% in the current year, head of the Agricultural Jihad Department of Parsabad told ISNA Saturday.

“We cannot expect the farmers to go on growing hard-to-raise, expensive crops like cotton while they are not supported by the government,” Namvar stated, adding that wheat and oilseeds farming has received more support in the region in the past few years.