Iran Supports Tomato Farmers by Providing Market Services: Deputy Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A senior Iranian agricultural official said that the country has provided market services, including purchasing the production surplus as part of the plan to support tomato farmers.
Head of the Central Organization of Rural Cooperatives of Iran (CORC) Dr. Hossein Shirzad announced that in the current crop year (March to September) a total volume of 325000 tons of tomato has been purchased by the CORC.
He said over 235000 tons of the said volume have been purchased based on the supportive price and the remaining has been bought based on the agreed prices.
Highlighting his agency’s support for farmers, Shirzad underlined that the volume of the purchased tomato by the CORC was unprecedented in the last 60 years.
As regards the reason behind the policy, Shirzad noted that last year the tomato price has been drastically rebounded due to decreasing potato farms, and the issue misled many farmers to enlarge the tomato farms this year.
The official said that the trend led to a surplus in production of the product in the current crop year.
Due to climate diversification, Iran has been ranked among the top ten countries of tomato producers; Production and processing of tomato have always been a lucrative industry.
By providing market services, including purchasing and delivering surplus crops into the processing factories, the CORC has managed to support farmers against price fluctuations.
