Medicinal herbs exports rise 22 percent in one year

 

The value of Iran’s exports of medicinal plants increased by 22 percent in the past Iranian calendar year (ends on March 19, 2024), according to an official in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Exports of medicinal plants increased by 66,000 tons in terms of weight in 1402, registering a 22% rise in terms of value compared to the same period last year, Hossein Zeinali, the director for the ministry’s plan of medical herbs, said.

"According to statistics, some 110,000 tons of medicinal plants were produced in the last 10 months of the previous year,” he said.

Tarahom Behzad, the director-general of the pasture affairs office of the organization, said that 14 natural climates are known in the world, of which there are about 11 climates in Iran, and it is the breeding ground of all kinds of medicinal plants.

So far, about 8,600 plant species have been identified in Iran, of which 2,300 species are medicinal and are directly used in the field of medicine, health and food supplements, the official added.

He said benefitting from a special climate and the area of about six million hectares of medicinal plant habitats is a very suitable opportunity for Iran for proper exploitation, more serious entry into the field of processing, creating employment, more specialized exports in the field of processed products, and earning foreign currency.