NOUSHAR, Mazandaran Prov. Iran, with a production of 3.5 million tons of citrus fruits annually, ranks 8th in the world both in terms of volume and the areas under cultivation, said the Head of Citrus Fruits Research Center Younes Ebrahimi Wednesday. Speaking at the coastal city of Ramsar, he added, areas under citrus fruit cultivation, which is located in 13 provinces, total 228,000 hectares.'' Ebrahimi added the provinces of Mazandaran, Fars and Hormuzgan, with 39.3, 26.7 and 22 percent of the total production, respectively, rank first to third in the country.

The citrus production per hectare has increased from seven to 10 tons over the past 20 years which is still far from optimum standards, Ebrahimi said. (IRNA)