Behnam Heydaripour

International Strategic Alliance in Pistachio Industry in Iran Behnam Heydaripour

Iran has attained the 1st rank in production and export of Pistachio around the world, with Iranian Pistachios exported to more than 70 countries. In 2012, Iran produced 200,000 tons of Pistachios, 121,000 tons of which, were exported and the value was estimated over 1bilion dollars . Hence, Pistachio is one of the most important non-oil export commodities in Iran making up around 11% of non-oil export of this country. Moreover, nearly 2000 companies are operating inside the industry and over 7000 people are working inside or outside the industry; whose jobs, are directly or indirectly relevant to this industry. Iran is the only country that can grow six types of Pistachios: Badami, Fandoughi, Kaleghouchi, Akbari, Ahmad Aghaie and Kernel. However, the industry is suffering from lack of modern technology, lack of innovation.