Exporting nuts and dried fruits can be highly lucrative for a country. According to the statistics provided by the country’s Dried Fruit Exporters Union, the amount of exports of these products in 2021 amounted to $5.2 billion. By comparing the non-oil exports of the country in 2020, which was about $34 billion, we can see that dried fruit exports accounted for approximately 10% of the country’s non-oil export volume. The majority of the country’s dried fruits, especially in the nut sector, are exported, with some years seeing exports comprising around 80 to 90 percent of the country’s production. Despite the challenges faced by producers and exporters of nuts and dried fruits in the country, it seems that dried fruits are still considered an attractive and advantageous commodity for export.
The advantages of exporting nuts and dried fruits are as follows:
– Increased income from exports and foreign currency earnings for the country.
– Creation of more job opportunities in the dried fruit industry, including for farmers, producers, and domestic suppliers.
– Increased credibility and reputation internationally.
– Increased value-added exports for domestic producers.
– Improvement of diversity in dried fruit products in the global market.
**How to Export Nuts and Dried Fruits**
If you intend to export nuts and dried fruits, you should be aware of the necessary health permits and specific standards related to these products, in addition to familiarizing yourself with the general export process that applies to almost all goods. Regarding the export of nuts and dried fruits, it should be noted that depending on the destination of the export product, the customs laws and requirements of the destination may vary. Therefore, it is important to first determine the destination country for your dried fruit exports in order to obtain the necessary permits specific to that country.
The general process of exporting nuts and dried fruits is as follows: after obtaining the mandatory standards and optional standards, you introduce your product to foreign customers through various means. Researching the markets for dried fruit buyers, standards, and competitors in each market, marketing through website design or finding active traders in the target market, presenting proforma, and other export steps are carried out step by step to deliver the product to the customer.
**Exporting Nuts and Dried Fruits Steps**
To succeed in exporting nuts and dried fruits, in addition to personal capabilities and product quality, you must also follow a discipline and general export rule. In general, the steps of exporting nuts and dried fruits include:
– Selecting and identifying the target market: Whether you are a nut producer or an experienced exporter who intends to add export experience to your successful resume, without a doubt, the first step is to identify the target market. In the following sections, we will definitely refer to a lot of essential information for identifying export opportunities for Iranian nuts. However, at the same time, it is necessary to fully understand the tastes and needs of the target market. Be aware of the situation of Iranian and foreign competitors in that country.
– Finding a customer based on this comprehensive research is the most important step to export nuts.
– Agreement with the customer: After marketing and finding the customer, you must take legal and administrative actions, the first of which is the issuance of a proforma or pre-invoice. Issues related to financial and credit guarantees, general agreements regarding customer requirements, shipping and packaging methods, and many other issues must be addressed at this stage.
– Procuring nuts: In the next step, after identifying the market and finding the customer, you need to procure the agreed product. It is necessary to specify whether you intend to export nuts in bulk or if you want to add value to your export product through proper packaging.
– Quality and technology: A quality product and the use of standard technologies in production and packaging can guarantee the continuation of dried fruit exports for you. Dates, nuts, dried fruits, and other dried fruits have specific standards that ensure the safety and health of the product.
In addition to mandatory packaging requirements, attention to customer taste and desire is also very important. Packaging for dried fruits can be done in paper, plastic, or metal packages, but quality and beauty are essential in any case. If you are not a dried fruit producer, we recommend visiting East Azerbaijan for nuts, Hamadan for walnuts, and Kerman, Bushehr, and Khuzestan provinces for dates. The most important producers of these products are located in the mentioned provinces.
– Obtaining health and standard permits for dried fruits: A dried fruit producer must have health and health codes. Also, the necessary standards for the production and packaging of dried fruits must be obtained. In addition to mandatory standards, it is better to obtain some certificates and supplementary standards to have a better say in competition with competitors. For example, standard 233 is related to disinfection of dried fruits, and standards 1035 and 36 are related to packaging of dried fruits.
– Product delivery: In this step, based on the agreements reached with the customer, the insured product is sent and delivered to the customer’s representative by a transportation company.
