Pistachios: growers get no rest

Mundus-Agri: After frost and drought, Iranian pistachio farmers are now struggling with the effects of heavy rains, which may have caused significant damage. Irrigation is also at risk as a result.

Floods uproot trees

After Iranian pistachio growers had to cope with frost and severe drought in the past months, heavy rains have now caused high damage to plantations in the province of Kerman. Kerman is considered the center of Iranian pistachio cultivation - according to estimates by the local agricultural organization, 5,000 ha of pistachio plantations were damaged in the area of the provincial capital Rafsanjan alone. A large amount of water flowed from the mountains into the plantations after the rainfall, causing many trees to be uprooted and the ground to be completely flooded with mud.

Irrigation at risk

The floods are now having various consequences. On the one hand, farmers are trying to remove the mud as quickly as possible and to replant the uprooted trees, otherwise the roots will dry out and the trees will die. On the other hand, the water pipes that serve to irrigate the plantations were also damaged. This could lead to further damage as a consequence.

Falling prices

Export prices for Iranian pistachios have been falling for the last two weeks, and in some cases, they have even been reduced significantly. The sharp increases of the previous weeks had reduced buying interest both in Iran and overseas, and buyers are more focused on the upcoming crop. Added to this is the devaluation of the Iranian rial; all these factors are pushing prices down.