Production
Pistacia vera L. is the only commercially-important species within the genus Pistacia L. (Anacardiaceae family) with nuts large enough to be consumed. Northern Iran, along with southern Turkmenistan and parts of Afghanistan, are the center of diversity of pistachios[1].
P. vera initial breeding started back at the Persian Empire, spanning from the Eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia. Ever since, pistachios have been an important crop in the cooler regions of the Iranian plateau. Later on, pistachio cultivation expanded into the Mediterranean basin. Although pistachios have been cultivated in Iran for thousands of years, commercial production started to significantly increase around a hundred years ago and has been growing ever since. As of the 1970s pistachio commercial crop reached other Mediterranean climatic regions around the world: California, Chile, South Africa and Australia.
Pistachio is a relatively small tree that thrives in the arid regions of the world close to the 30th parallel. It can grow from sea level (as in Greece) up to 1,800 meters above sea level (as in Iran). Pistachio trees require significant chilling hours in order to produce a viable crop and they present a pronounced alternate bearing habit, which reflects through the variation in annual yield.
Iranian pistachios are characterized by a high kernel to in-shell ratio, and a rich and unique flavor highly appreciated among consumers around the world. Besides, their polyunsaturated oil content gives pistachios great roasting capacity: nuts can be roasted at between 160 and 180°C[2].
P. vera initial breeding started back at the Persian Empire, spanning from the Eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia. Ever since, pistachios have been an important crop in the cooler regions of the Iranian plateau. Later on, pistachio cultivation expanded into the Mediterranean basin. Although pistachios have been cultivated in Iran for thousands of years, commercial production started to significantly increase around a hundred years ago and has been growing ever since. As of the 1970s pistachio commercial crop reached other Mediterranean climatic regions around the world: California, Chile, South Africa and Australia.
Pistachio is a relatively small tree that thrives in the arid regions of the world close to the 30th parallel. It can grow from sea level (as in Greece) up to 1,800 meters above sea level (as in Iran). Pistachio trees require significant chilling hours in order to produce a viable crop and they present a pronounced alternate bearing habit, which reflects through the variation in annual yield.
Iranian pistachios are characterized by a high kernel to in-shell ratio, and a rich and unique flavor highly appreciated among consumers around the world. Besides, their polyunsaturated oil content gives pistachios great roasting capacity: nuts can be roasted at between 160 and 180°C[2].
Currently, Iran along with California (USA) lead the marketable world supply of pistachios (Figure 1). Turkey, Syria, Greece, Afghanistan, Spain, Australia, China and Italy are other significant producing origins[3].
Acc
ording to Iran Pistachio Association (IPA), the demographics of production structure in Iran is largely composed of small-scale producers, managing orchards of two hectares or less with manual harvest. Overall, there are over 400,000 hectares planted with pistachios, of which around 300,000 ha are bearing. Kerman Province, in Southern Iran accounts for 42% of total acreage, equivalent to 185,000 ha. Great Khorasan and Yazd provinces add up to 27% and 10% of the planted area, respectively. The rest of the growing areas are distributed among Fars (6%), Semnan (4%), and other provinces (11%) (Fig. 2).
ording to Iran Pistachio Association (IPA), the demographics of production structure in Iran is largely composed of small-scale producers, managing orchards of two hectares or less with manual harvest. Overall, there are over 400,000 hectares planted with pistachios, of which around 300,000 ha are bearing. Kerman Province, in Southern Iran accounts for 42% of total acreage, equivalent to 185,000 ha. Great Khorasan and Yazd provinces add up to 27% and 10% of the planted area, respectively. The rest of the growing areas are distributed among Fars (6%), Semnan (4%), and other provinces (11%) (Fig. 2).
Commercial varieties in Iran are classified by shape: round and long. When the length to diameter ratio is greater than 1.5, then that variety is classified as long, a ratio below 1.5 is called round.
Currently, there are four different commercial varieties of pistachios cultivated in Iran, as listed below[4].
Among round cultivars, Fandoghi is the most widely available variety and is still cultivated in traditional-producing regions of Iran. At present, it accounts for around 50% of Iranian production. However, due to its limited yield, new orchards are rarely planted with this variety.
Kalleh Ghouchi (Jumbo) was a commercially successful variety, but because its production is highly affected by water shortage, water salinity and weather fluctuations, Jumbo is no longer being budded and current production comes from existing trees.
As for long cultivars, Akbari acreage is expanding due to its higher yields and large nut size. Besides, this variety presents the largest kernel to in-shell weight ratio.
Ahmad Aghaei is an increasingly in-demand commercial long variety. Resembling the Kerman variety from the US, its production is growing as it has become very popular in export markets like India due to its exceptional taste and appearance.
Processing
The processing industry in Iran is gradually moving from low-capacity units towards industrial high-capacity plants. However, with the advent of new industrial processing plants and the rising costs of processing in small-scale units, new collective processing agreements are becoming popular. In such schemes, decisions about the sale of processed pistachios are made by the industrial processing unit on behalf of individual growers.
Currently, the largest industrial fresh pistachio processing plant in the country has a capacity of 400 metric tons of fresh pistachios, equivalent to 130 MT of dried in-shell nuts, per day. Although the number of high-capacity plants is small, the total number of mechanized processing units is growing every year[5].
Trade
There are around a hundred pistachio export houses in Iran, from which, some are dedicated pistachio exporters, while others trade other dried agricultural commodities in addition to pistachios. These established exporters, as a group, command about 95% of total Iranian pistachio exports. Growers of pistachios, especially the medium to large sized ones, usually sell their products directly to the established export houses.
As 
per the IPA data, over the last decade, total Iranian pistachio annual exports (marketing years, September 23-September 22) ranged between 128,000 and 184,000 MT in-shell equivalent, on average. As for the current marketing year, shipments from September 2019 through July 2020 have been 152,000 MT (Fig. 4).
On average (2010/11-2019/20 marketing years), around 80% of Iran’s total supply is exported, domestic consumption represents 20% (Fig. 4).
Pistachio exports from Iran over the last ten years averaged 143,000 metric tons (in-shell equivalent). Most pistachio exports are raw, in bulk, at either one of the three following forms: open or closed dried in-shell, kernels, and green peeled pistachio kernels (Fig. 5).
IPA data show that 75% of international shipments were naturally open in-shell pistachios (10-year average) while the remaining 25% was distributed among closed shells (11%), kernels (9%), Green Peeled Pistachio Kernels (2%) and other forms (3%) (Fig. 6).
Average global annual shipments during the last 5-year period (marketing years 2014/15-2018/19) amounted to 120,700 MT. The main markets were the Far East, with 41% of the total share, followed by the European Union (12%), the Middle East (11%), the Indian Subcontinent (11%) and the CIS countries (9%). The UAE and Turkey (re-export markets) accounted for 14% of the share (Fig. 7).
Consumption Trends
Worldwide, naturally split in-shell pistachios are mostly consumed as a salted roasted snack and it is the consumer who shells the kernel before eating. In a smaller proportion, GPPKs are used as an ingredient by the food industry, such as the confectionery, chocolate, ice cream and gourmet processed meat industries.
Pistachios have been traditionally considered a delicacy and in industrial use, kernels and GPPKs are mostly added as an ingredient to give the product an aura of luxury. However, since the 1970s, pistachios have developed also into a widely available supermarket item to the general public[6].
Owing to the industry’s improved processing, packaging and distribution systems, along with the promotion of pistachios as a healthy snack, apart from the traditional ingredient market that keeps trending upwards, domestic pistachio in-shell consumption is also growing steadily. As per IPA, domestic consumption remains consistent. Ranging between 32,000 and 46,000 MT over the last decade, domestic consumption accounts on average for 20% of total supply (The remaining 80% stands for pistachio exports).
[1]Sheikhi A., A. M. (2019). Pistachio (Pistacia spp.) Breeding. In J. S. Al-Khayri J., Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies: Nut and Beverage Crops. Springer, Cham.
[2] Iran Pistachio Association (2020).