Iran is one of the world's four leading date producers and exporters but could lose its market share if foreign rivals keep making improvements in the production and export of the product and Iran’s relevant officials neglect the issue.
Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Tunisia have made serious investments to boost production and export of dates and have earned substantial revenues annually as a result.
Although the Iranian government currently purchases dates from farmers at a normal price, exporters are having difficulty selling the product at a good price due to the dearth of cold storage and other necessary facilities.
High tariffs on imported boxes and raw materials needed to package dates have raised packaging costs, hence Iran must send its dates to other countries for packaging.
Another major problem exporters face is the fluctuation in prices, which makes it difficult for them to fulfill their contracts.
If the government helps date exporters increase efficiency in the packaging process, Iran will be able to maintain its share of the global date market.
MT/HG
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MNA