TEHRAN- Flowers and ornamental plants valued at over $1 million were exported from Kordestan province, in the west of Iran, during the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20), according to a provincial official.

Peyman Eskandari, the head of the province’s Agriculture Department, said that one of the priority programs of his department is the development of greenhouse cultivation.

He said that the production of flowers and ornamental plants is economically justifiable, and currently there are about 6.5 hectares of greenhouses dedicated to flowers and ornamental plants production in the province.

Two weeks ago, the head of Iran’s Ornamental Plants Research Center (OPRC) said that no permanent production and the problem of transportation are obstacles to the growth of the country’s flowers and ornamental plants export.

Hossein Bayat said the government's support for the creation of large production centers can provide the basis for the continuous export of these products.

“One of the shortcomings of export is that the production of flowers and ornamental plants does not follow a permanent trend, and for this reason, we cannot have a constant and permanent export of these products throughout the year, and due to the temporary stoppage of the production of the flowers and ornamental plants, we cannot meet the expectations of the export market”, he further complained.

“One of the ways to solve this problem is the government's support for the creation of large production centers so that these centers provide a platform for continuous export by supporting small production units. Otherwise, with the continuation of these conditions, we should not expect an increase in exports”, Bayat commented.

In addition to the existing problems in the field of production, transportation and transport systems and export laws of the destination countries have also created restrictions on the export of these products, the head of OPRC further lamented.

Also, the chairman of the Flower Retailers' Association of Tehran has said, “The high cost of production and the lack of modern greenhouses have led to low export of the flowers and ornamental plants, and have kept us away from the world markets”.

Gholam-Hossein Soltan-Mohammadi said, “Last year, we did not have much export, in other words, in the second half of the past year, we had a little export to Iraq and now we are still sending to this country, however, the export to European countries was less than previous years.”

“If our products reach the export markets, we may be able to compensate the production costs. Otherwise, if we are going to produce only to supply the domestic market, we should definitely not boost production more than this”, he added.

Production of flowers and ornamental plants in Iran rose during the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20), despite the coronavirus pandemic, an official with the Agriculture Ministry has announced.

Gholam-Reza Taqavi, the director-general of the Office of Greenhouses, Ornamental Plants, and Edible Mushrooms of the ministry’s Horticulture Affairs Department, said that 4.532 billion flowers and ornamental plants were produced in the country in the past year.

Iran has 17th place in the world in the production of flowers and ornamental plants, but it is ranked 107th in terms of export.

Considering the high potential and volume of import of flowers and ornamental plants by the Persian Gulf littoral states and Central Asian countries, in order to increase the share of Iran in the world markets, it is necessary to adopt effective and targeted policies in order to solve the problems in the way of production and export of flowers and ornamental plants.

As reported, it is possible for Iran to export more than one billion dollars of flowers and ornamental plants per year, and the officials of the Agriculture Ministry also emphasize the export capabilities of the country’s flower and ornamental plant sector.

Although, the producers of this sector have problems and limitations, most of which are related to the ministries of energy and industry, which should be removed through adopting effective and targeted policies.

MA