Mostafa Daraeinejad, the head of Iran’s Fruit and Vegetables Association in Tehran, has said various countries have banned imports of Iranian fruits and vegetables due to mold or high pesticide residues. Late last week Daraeinejad stated that India, Russia, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and others no longer accepted some certificates issued by Iran's agricultural organizations and demanded their own standards be met.
Last year, Iran exported $6.5 billions worth of agricultural products. It is among the top ten producers of more than two dozen fruits and vegetables, including saffron, apples, citrus fruit, watermelons and other melons, pomegranates, dates, pistachios and walnuts.
Daraeinejad said India was refusing import permits for Iranian kiwi after finding it did not meet safety standards. Iran is seventh in world kiwi production, and the main producing region exported nearly 60,000 tons, worth $95 million in 2018.
Daraeinejad warned that Iran faced the threat of losing agricultural markets if the Ministry of Agriculture did not take immediate action to raise standards. He said the matter should also concern domestic consumers as "Iranians don't deserve to ingest nitrates and other pesticide residues."
