A six-month ban on the export of pistachio nuts introduced last week by the Iranian government to curb domestic prices has been scrapped.
According to the head of the Iran Pistachio Association, Mohsen Jalalpour, Iran produces approximately 200,000 tons of pistachio nuts annually. Only around 30 per cent is intended for the domestic market.
Jalalpour criticised the government’s earlier decision to ban exports as “unprofessional”, given how poorly it reflected on Iran as a reliable provider of produce on the international market.
Sustaining successful trade relations is key for a country that is currently struggling with a decline in its national currency value and an inflation rate of 29 per cent, in part as a result of American and European Union sanctions over its nuclear programme.
The commerce minister, Hamid Safdel, stated that the ban had been retracted on the stipulation that pistachios continue to be sold to consumers at “suitable” prices.
