A Review of Iran’s Exports Potentials:

Iran Produces World’s Flagship Products

News ID: 70113

Date: 12 November 2016 - 10:46

Trade Promotion Organization of Iran supports the exported goods through allocating $3.400 billion of bank facilities. Considering this fact, exported goods of highest quality are introduced in this piece of writing. It is worth mentioning that 90 percent of exported goods are transported through shipping lines.

Iran enjoys real and potential exports talents in comparison with other countries, MANA correspondent reported. Iran’s exported goods including industrial, agricultural and marine productions have attracted many enthusiasts from all around the world. Currently, many European, Asian and even American homes and walls are decorated with Persian Carpet as well as beautiful Persian carpet tableaus. Iran Saffron is so famous that Spain supplies large amount of it under its name. Despite different countries’ competition with Iran, they couldn’t produce goods to be substitute for Iranian original and traditional products. Recent statistics show that more than 20 thousand units are produced and exported to foreign countries. Data released by Islamic Republic of Iran Customs demonstrates that Iranian exporters could supply 27,708,2000 tons of goods worth $10.500 billion to international markets in the spring, 2016 which presents significant growth when compared to the same period last year. China, Emirate, Iraq, South Korea and India are supposed to be host of Iran exported goods as well as Europe, Africa and Asia.

Exported goods having excellent quality include: handicrafts, carpets, nuts, shrimp, caviar, home appliances, honey, furniture, white cement, petrochemical goods, steel products, automobiles, engineering and technical services, juice and detergents.

Saffron

Saffron is one of the most expensive spices derived from the flower of Crocus Sativus, commonly known as the Saffron. Use of saffron, one of the valuable agricultural goods, spans more than 3000 years. Saffron is an indigenous plant of Iranian plateau which has been transferred to other countries. Consumable Saffron is dried stigmas of flowers that have two to four branches and two to four centimeters. Today, the main countries which plant this product are Iran and Spain. Saffron is grown in arid and semi arid areas of southern Khorasan and other parts of the country. Great economic value of Saffron in the global markets, employment and considerable earnings, make Saffron’s economic efficiency to be justified.

Researches on the quality of Saffron from Greece, Spain and Iran show that Iran saffron is not comparable to those produced in other countries. Saffron is used in countries that have high annual income. Emirate, Spain and other European countries are those which are considered as the target ones.

Presently, 90 percent of Saffron is produced in Iran out of which 80 percent is exported. The annual production of Saffron in Iran reaches approximately 300 tons worth about $450 per kg.

Date

Iran is one of the leading producers and exporters of date in the world in which more than one million ton is produced per annum. Prominent date producer provinces of Iran include Kerman, Khuzestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr and Fars. Date is one of the agricultural products which accounts for high volume of exported agricultural goods. 18 types of date are produced in Iran among which Mazafati, Shahany, Dayri, Zahedi, Rabby, Barhi, Khazravi stand out. It is worth mentioning that Mazafati date is top on the list of exported products. Other exporters of date along with Iran are India, Turkey, Emirate, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malaysia.

Fishery Products

Fish farming and exports of farmed shrimp, fish (particularly trout) and canned tuna can be seen in some countries. Fish from south of the country, farmed common crab and farmed shrimp are the highest volume of exported fishery products, respectively. Target countries are China and Southeast Asia. Thanks to the lifting of the sanctions, Iran is trying to export this product to five continents of the world (Europe, North and South America, Russia and African countries). At the moment, canned tuna is exported to neighboring countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

Handicrafts

Iran’s various and well-known handicrafts including artwork of signet, enamel, turquoise, marquetry, jewelry, glasswork, kilim (flat- woven carpet), potteries and ceramics are exported to many countries.

Furniture can be referred to as handicrafts as well. The first quarter of 2016 witnessed the exports of $3.6 million which showed growth of 33 percent when compared to the corresponding period last year.

Iran is a leading country in this field which has not got any competitors around the world. Its products are exported to European, Asian, American and Arabic countries as well as China and Canada.

One of the most significant and valuable handicrafts of Iran is kilim. It is woven with wool and cotton in general and by goat, sheep, horse and camel’s wool in particular. Different colors and effective compounds are considered as crucial factors which enhance the beauty and quality of this product. The colors are derived from natural elements and can also be helpful in identifying its origin and antiquity. Kilim is found in different areas of Iran such as Varamin, Garmsar, Bakhtiari region, Fars and Kurdestan among which Qashqai, Bakhtiari and Shahsavan stand out. Two-sided druggets are exported to America, Germany and Italy along with Norway and Japan.

Honey

Honey is a unique sweet food made by bees’ foraging for nectar from flowers. Iran Honey is different on the basis of the existing hives such as Ghoochan, Firoozkooh and Damavand’s honey.

This product is exported to some neighboring countries including Turkey and Dubai.

Fruits and Vegetables

Iran fruit exports have flourished during the post-sanctions era. Iran’s fresh vegetables and fruits such as apple, orange, kiwi, citrus, pomegranate, tropical and cold fruits are exported to different countries. Meanwhile, fruit and vegetables exports are dispatched to Russia from the beginning of 2016. Turkish goods are replaced by Iranians due to the sanctions imposed by Russia on Ankara. At persent, kiwi, fresh vegetables and broccoli are top on the units exported to Russia which are not only supplied in local markets but also in large chain stores that are located in many cities of this country and have agencies all over the world. It should be noted that Tehran and Moscow signed a customs clearance contract to provide daily needs of Russia’s fruit, vegetables, dairies, white meat and fish by simplifying customs regulations for Iranian exporters.

In addition, CIS markets including Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Moldova as well as observer status of Turkmenistan like Eurasia economical union are another opportunity for Iranian exporters of fruit, vegetables and various types of juices.

Iran: The first one in pottery industry in the history

Lalejin is a city in Hamadan Province and is known as the production center of pottery and ceramics in The Middle East. Considering the soil of this city, it is considered as one of the major production centers of pottery and ceramics in the world. Lalejin soil is clay and most potteries of this region are designed without patterns. Pottery glaze colors which are made in Hamadan are usually ultramarine, blue, navy blue, russet, yellow, green, cyan and brown.

Mybod, Yazd

In this region, white clay is used. The potteries found in Meybod are decorated with women on them or ornated with flowers, fish and birds.

Nuts

Considering high quality of Iran’s nuts, many countries all around the world are the customers of this product. In line with this, more than $1 billion of nuts including walnut, almonds, pistachios, hazelnut and raisins are exported to 50 countries of the world annually. Emirate, Kuwait, Bahrain, Ukraine, China, Hindustan, England, Russia, Uzbekistan, France and Turkey are the target countries.

Jewelry

The long history of Iran’s gold results in the world’s attraction. In line with this, Iran’s jewelry market turnover is $42 billion per year. At this time, Iran produces 2.5 tons of gold but it is well-known for its jewelry. Head of Jewelry Employers Association said in a report that Iran’s exports capacity in this field is recorded at $5 billion. Accordingly, $2 billion of jewelry is exported to foreign countries. Meanwhile, 10 thousand production units are active in jewelry industry in Iran. Experts believe that Iran’s target markets include Russia, Eastern bloc countries and Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

Flowers and Plants

Iran has been ranked seven among the 10 producers of flowers and ornamental plants in the world. At this time, 4,600 hectares of the country’s land cultivate 3 billion and 850 million flowers annually. Spring is the best season to travel due to the freshness of the fields which makes the possibilities of growing colorful flowers. Iran has significant share in ornamental plant exports in a way that some foreign companies are cooperating in central and northern areas of the country. For example, a Dutch company has devoted a big garden in Esfahan to produce ornamental flowers such as Dutch tulips to be exported to other countries.

Since cultivation of ornamental flowers and plants has great potentials in Iran, more than 50 and 100 thousand of people have active role directly and indirectly in the production process, respectively. Iran has the capacity of ornamental flowers, trees and shrubs exports to $500 million per annum. Common customers of Iran’s flowers and plants are Iraq, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Tajikistan.

Gladiolus, Rose, Clove, Maryam, Anthurium, Tulip, Nargis, Lily, Marguerite, Strelitzia reginae, Gerbera Jamesonii hybrid and Alstroemeria are the top exported flowers.

Provinces in which flowers and plants’ cultivation is known as people’s occupation include: Tehran, Markazi, Mazandaran, Esfahan, Khuzestan, Fars, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and Gilan.

Persian Carpet

Carpet is known in the world by the brand of Iran. No historian has any doubts about handmade carpet’s belonging to Iran. When Russian archaeologist discovered Iran handmade carpet in Pazyryk, this product was known to Iran. Persian carpet was exported to European countries during Renascence. Presently, as mentioned earlier floor and wall of the homes and embassies are decorated with this ancient and antique product.

Caviar

Caviar, the most expensive food in the world, is the egg of sturgeons. Caspian Sea is considered as the main and the largest source of caviar in the world. Sturgeons are classified into 27 species among which most of them live in the Caspian Sea. Worth of these types of fish is rooted in their eggs.

Some species of sturgeons which are the most prominent in the world and they can be found in the Caspian Sea include: Beluga, Ossetra, and Starry sturgeon.

Caviar comes in a variety of colors, including shades of red, gold and black among which the black one stands out. Beluga is the largest domestic fish of Iran which is the first in the Middle East in terms of quality.

The target countries are Japan, Germany, England, Italy and Norway.

It is worth mentioning that at this time, Iran provides sturgeon farming in order to protect this specific kind of fish.