India Restricts Apple Imports; Iran May Be Hit: Newspaper

EghtesadOnline: The Indian government on Monday imposed a ban on the import of apples that cost up to Rs50 a kg, which move may hit shipments of the fruit from Iran, the UAE and Afghanistan.

News ID: ۷۵۲۵۲۴

10 May 2023

The Indian government on Monday imposed a ban on the import of apples that cost up to Rs50 a kg, which move may hit shipments of the fruit from Iran, the UAE and Afghanistan.

Government sources said China too would be impacted, although official data showed negligible imports from across the border. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced the decision to move apples that cost up to Rs50 a kg (including cost, insurance and freight) from “free” to “prohibited” category, while making an exception for Bhutan, The Times of India reported.

The ban has come based on a recommendation from the Indian Agriculture Ministry, sources said. The amendment to the trade policy comes during the lean season for apples.

At the higher end of the market, Washington apples and those from Turkey have flooded the market in recent years. In the last financial year, apple imports were valued at nearly $300 million, around 24% lower than the previous year.

Official disaggregated data available showed that Turkey accounted for the largest chunk of the imports ($72 million), followed by Chile ($38.6 million), Italy ($34 million) and Iran ($26 million). US apple imports dropped by 76% to $5 million.

Iran’s Annual Apple Exports Top $200m

A total of 62,595 tons of fresh and dried apples worth $215.09 million were exported from Iran in the fiscal 2022-23 (ended March 20), registering a 36% decline in terms of weight compared with the year before.

According to the statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, the value of one kilogram of exported apples (fresh and dried) stood at 34 cents in the year under review. It stood at 28 cents in the fiscal 2021-22.

The exports were shipped to Armenia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the UAE, the UK, Ukraine, Belarus, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Azarbaijan Republic, Japan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Oman, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Poland, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia and India, the news portal of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture reported.

Iraq with 296,000 tons of exports was the top destination of Iranian apples in the fiscal 2022-23. It was followed by Afghanistan with 94,000 tons and India with 83,000 tons.

Afghanistan, the UAE, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Iraq and India accounted for 93% of the apple export’s weight in the year under review.

According to Daryoush Salempour, an official with the Agriculture Ministry, the highest volume of apples was exported from Iran in the fiscal 2021-22 with 985,000 tons.

“Iran was the second largest apple exporter in the world [after China] in that year,” Mehr News Agency reported.

A total of 4 million tons of apples were produced in the fiscal 2022-23, registering a 7% fall compared to the year before due to weather changes, frost and hail at the beginning of the year, he added.

The area under ​​apple cultivation in Iran is 247,000 hectares.

Salempour said Iran ranks third in the world in terms of apple orchard area and ranks fourth in terms of apple production.

West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Fars, Isfahan, Tehran, Zanjan and Hamedan are the main apple producing provinces of Iran.