<p></p><p>Deputy Minister of Agriculture in Iran Muhammad Ali Tahmasbi at the national festival of pistachios announced that Iran exports pistachios worth of more than 1 billion dollars a year, and the major importers of these products are China, India, and also Caspian countries.</p> <p>According to Tahmasbi, pistachio plantations in Iran occupy an area of 400 000 hectares. Annually these plantations yield up to 360 000 MT of raw pistachios, and about one-third of them is processed into dried pistachios.</p> <p>Deputy Minister of Agriculture inspected several pistachio plantations himself and discussed with experts the current issues of pistachios cultivation, production and distribution. </p><p> </p><br><p></p>