Iran’s export of edible mushrooms on rise

The value of mushrooms exported from Iran in the first six
months of the current Iranian calendar year stands at $2.1 million, the head of
the Greenhouse Affairs Office of the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture announced.

According to the statistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Customs Administration (IRICA), 1,703 tons of edible mushrooms, valued at 42.1
million, were exported from the country abroad from March 21 to September 22,
2023, Elham Fattahifar stated.

This is while about 5,646 tons of mushrooms, valued at
$6.862 million, had been exported from the country in 2022, she said, adding
that the mushrooms were exported to countries including Qatar, Armenia, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, Georgia and Bahrain.

According to the statistics of the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) released in 2021, Iran managed to produce about 180,000 tons
of edible mushrooms, standing in the 7th place in the world.

China produced 41,117,736 tons of mushrooms and stood in
first place in the world, followed by Japan, Poland, and the United States
respectively, she continued.

Presently, edible mushroom is produced in most provinces of
Iran including Tehran, Alborz, Isfahan, Khorasan Razavi, Fars, Qazvin,
Khuzestan, Mazandaran and Chahahrmahal and Bakhtiari, she said.

Fattahifar pointed to the production of various species of
mushroom in Iran and the world and added, “According to the available statistics,
more than 37,500 species of mushroom have been identified worldwide, 2,000
species of which are edible and only 25 species of these mushrooms are produced
for exports.”