TEHRAN- The weight of Iranian exports of agricultural and foodstuff products increased by 19 percent in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20) compared to the same period last year, a senior official at Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) said.

According to Mahmoud Bazari, director-general of TPO’s Export Coordination Office for agro crops and processing industry products, exports of the mentioned products in the Q1 of this year also increased by one percent in terms of value.

The share of agricultural and foodstuff products from the country’s total exports in the first quarter of the current year is estimated at 19.6 percent, which has increased by 66 percent compared to the same period in the Iranian calendar year 1395 (started on March 20, 2016) when the current government took office.

“This significant increase in the share of the mentioned products in the country's non-oil export basket during the said period indicates that it is possible to further develop exports in this sector,” Bazari stressed.

According to the official, the exports of agricultural products during the Q1 of the current year increased by 36 percent in terms of value, while registering a 29-percent increase in terms of weight, compared to the same period last year.

“The export of fruits and vegetables during this period also increased by 24 percent in weight, which indicates the very good export capacities of these products,” he noted.

According to Head of Agriculture Ministry’s Planning and Economic Affairs Department Shahrokh Shajari, Iran exported over $5.8 billion worth of agricultural and foodstuff products in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19).

In the mentioned period, over 6.941 million tons of agricultural and foodstuff products worth $6.392 billion were also imported into the country, according to Shajari.

Watermelons, apples, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and shallots were the top five exported products in the previous year in terms of weight, while in terms of value, pistachios, apples, tomatoes, pistachio kernels, and watermelons were the five major export products.

EF/MA