Iran Authorizes Duty Free Potato Exports

The export of potatoes from Iran has been exempted from tax and customs duties by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade.

According to Mohammad Reza Kalami, a senior official with the Ministry, the export directive will be valid until further notice. The measure has been taken to support local farmers during the potato harvesting season.

“With more than 5.1 million tons of production, Iran ranks 13th among the world’s potato producers,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Hossein Shirzad said, citing the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ 2019 data.

“Land under potato cultivation in Iran stands at 160,000 hectares,” Shirzad told financialtribune.com.

The official noted that based on FAO’s report, China with 99 million tons, India with 49 million tons and Russia with 31 million tons top the list of major potato producers.

A total of 1.37 million tons of fruit and vegetable worth USD425m were exported from Iran during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Aug 21).