Iran registered 17 million tons worth $13 billion in trade deficit for agricultural and food products in the last Iranian year that ended on March 20, 2023, latest data released by the Agriculture Ministry show.
Exports stood at 7.77 million tons worth $5.21 billion, indicating a fall of 8.93% in tonnage and 2.29% in value compared with the year before.
Pistachio topped the list of exports in terms of value with $405.04 million, followed by dates with $315.48 million, tomato worth $314.72 million, milk powder worth $310.68 million and saffron worth $244.22 million.
In terms of tonnage, watermelon topped the list with 886,740 tons, followed by 678,600 tons of tomato, 625,820 tons of apple, 395,330 tons of onion, shallot and garlic, and 363,760 tons of dates.