The announcement was made by the director general of Greenhouses, Medicinal Plants and Edible Mushrooms Affairs Office affiliated to the Agriculture Ministry.
The terminal is located in the Ahmadabad-e Mostofi District of Eslamshahr County in southwest Tehran, near the Imam Khomeini International Airport, which facilitates flower and plant exports, ILNA reported.
Gholamreza Taqavi also expects Iran’s flower and plant exports to increase by at least 10-15% compared to last year (March 2017-18), once the terminal becomes operational, according to Financial Tribune.
According to Taqavi, Iran exported $24 million worth of flowers and plants last year.
Mehdi Sharifi, the head of Iran’s Flowers and Plants Union, said Iran is the world’s 10th biggest producer of flower and plants, though the country has only a 0.3% share in global export markets, making it the 107th flower exporter.
“The country’s meager share in export markets is rooted in poor standards, high production costs and lack of mechanization,” he said.
According to Sharifi, Iran’s ornamental flower and plant industry has a turnover of over 110 trillion rials ($2.26 billion) per year.