Financial Tribune - Some 800,000 tons of apples have been exported from Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year on March 21, which is a record high, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday.

“Last year’s (March 2017-18) total exports stood at close to 600,000 tons. Iran’s apple exports go to Middle Eastern countries, especially the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Pakistan and Turkey, as well as some European countries,” Shokrollah Hajivand was also quoted as saying by IRNA.

Based on figures released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Iran is the ninth biggest producer of apples worldwide. In exports, the country ranks ninth in terms of weight and 14th in value. “The country accounts for 1.87% and 4.05% of the global production and exports respectively,” the deputy head of Export Promotion Office with the Ministry of Agriculture, told Financial Tribune last year.