Iran is the world's number one pistachio producer, claiming 50 percent of the market.

TEHRAN, Sept. 28--Pistachio orchards, particularly those in the southeastern province of Kerman, have been severely hit by unusual weather conditions including spring frosts and warmer winter this year, declared director general of Pistachio Producers Union here on Tuesday.
Production of pistachio dropped by 60 percent in the current crop year, Navid Moaven said, expressing hope that conditions would be normal next year, ISNA said.
He further noted that Iran exported over 800 million tons of pistachio last year.
Moaven predicted that continued water shortage would affect pistachio farmers since more water was needed to sustain crops in the coming year.
"The yield for pistachio stands at one ton per hectare while in advanced countries this figure is three tons," he stated.
Iran is the world's number one pistachio producer, claiming 50 percent of the market. Pistachios, along with carpets, caviar and saffron, are Iran's main non-oil export items.
The latest research by the World Bank shows that Iran ranks fourth in the variety of agricultural products after China, USA and Turkey.

TEHRAN, Sept. 28--State Privatization Organization will offer shares of 12 major state companies on the stock market in coming weeks following an unprecedented warning by President Khatami to get the privatization job done before his second and last term ends in mid-2005.
According to ISNA, the shares to be transferred by the organization to private ownership are worth five trillion rials. The major privatization initiative will take place during October 18-20.
Mir Ali Ashraf Abdollah-Pouri Hosseini, head of the State Privatization Organization, told ISNA Tuesday that the organization failed to meet the Third Plan targets for the first half of this year (corresponding to March-September period), expressing hope that more state companies would be privatized by March.
The official had said earlier that President Mohammad Khatami has set a three-month deadline for privatizing all state companies whose shares should have been transferred to private ownership as stipulated in the Third Development Plan (2000-2005) Law.
He told Fars news agency that the organization is trying to meet the deadline and transfer shares of more than 250 state companies and institutions.
He stressed that shares of some 220 companies, which were planned to be privatized during the Third Plan, will be offered on the stock market within the next three months, when 30 more state companies will be allowed to cede their shares to private ownership.
The State Privatization Organization transferred 42.2 million shares of state companies to private ownership in the first six months of the current year (started March).
The latest figures made available to Iran Daily by the organization suggest that shares transferred in the period were worth 422 billion rials.
Some 17 companies affiliated to the State Privatization Organization as well as 28 affiliates of other major state enterprises have been privatized since March as stipulated in the Third Five-Year Development Plan (2000-2005).
Iran Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization offered most of the shares with 87.1 percent followed by the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization with 11 percent.
All the shares offered in the period were ceded to private ownership via the stock market.

TEHRAN, Sept. 28--Parliament is concerned about a decline in foreign investment ranking, a senior lawmaker said Tuesday.
Iraj Nadimi, who heads the Majlis Trade Policies Committee, told Mehr news agency that the enemies of the Islamic establishment are trying to discourage foreign investors from investing in Iranian projects.
The lawmaker further noted that all state, private and foreign financial resources must be utilized to achieve the development goals, stressing that the country will not be able to overcome its economic problems by relying on domestic investments.
He called for preparing the ground for presence of foreign banks and insurance firms in Iran, adding that foreign investments are mainly made in Iran's oil industry.
Experts say Iran's investment risk rate is likely to come down from four to three as major international institutes have reportedly lowered the rate. The investment risk scale is from 1 being the lowest and 7 the highest risk.
But some analysts contend international institutions are not willing to announce Iran's real investment risk due to certain reasons.
Despite this, foreign investments have more than doubled in the first five months of this Iranian year (started March) against the figure for the corresponding period last year.
The main risk to Iran's political outlook, international investment risk assessment institutes believe, stems from concerns over its nuclear ambitions.
Iran has stepped up cooperation with UN-affiliated inspectors monitoring its peaceful nuclear program avoiding referral to the UN Security Council. However, the process still has far to run before the issue can be declared resolved given the mounting US pressures on the UN nuclear watchdog to send the dossier to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

TEHRAN, Sept. 28--A senior petrochemical industry official said here on Tuesday that the privatization of the Imam Khomeini Port Petrochemical Complex would not be economical, stressing that the initiative would create further financial problems for the complex.
Abbas Sheri-Moqaddam, managing director of the complex, told ISNA that if the private sector is to operate Imam Khomeini Port Petrochemical Complex, the National Petrochemical Industries Company will have to deposit 50 percent of revenues from privatizing the complex with the State Treasury.
"We have to deposit 50 percent of revenues with the treasury, whereas the company needs financial resources for its development projects," he said, adding that the Imam Khomeini Port Petrochemical Complex is capable of meeting its own foreign currency requirements.
The official further noted that the complex provided the national petrochemical industry with $400 million last year, adding, however, that the National Petrochemical Industries Company is ready to transfer the shares of the complex to private ownership as per the law.
He said three major projects are underway in the Imam Khomeini Port, stressing that the port authorities are trying to improve services instead of developing the port due to its old structures.
Iran's petrochemical production capacity is expected to reach 15 million tons by March 2006.
German, Swedish and Azeri firms have invested in several petrochemical projects in Iran in recent months.
Foreign investors are reportedly keen on undertaking more projects while several foreign investment applications are currently being reviewed by the government.
Major petrochemical projects including Tondgouyan, Amir Kabir and Olefin will be completed next year. The Third Aromatic (Avicenna) project will also be implemented by mid-2005.
With the completion of all the Third Plan petrochemical projects, national petrochemical production capacity will increase by five million tons to reach 15 million tons per annum.
President Mohammad Khatami inaugurated a major petrochemical complex in the western city of Mahabad, West Azarbaijan, earlier this month. Mahabad Petrochemical Complex has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons of polyethylene.
A 1,500-km ethylene pipeline extends to Mahabad from Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in the hydrocarbon resource-rich Asalouyeh region. The pipeline will transfer 5.1 million tons of ethylene to and from Asalouyeh located on the Persian Gulf.

Officials believe apple production has increased by 7-8 percent while producers have reported a 30-percent decline.

TEHRAN, Sept. 28--The 2.5-fold hike in transportation costs and this year's frosts are to blame for the skyrocketing fruit prices in the capital, the head of Tehran Commerce Department said, adding that the organization is unable to control prices because of the prevailing insecurity in major fruit and vegetable distribution centers.
"Our inspector was stabbed to death in Tehran's central fruit and vegetable distribution center recently," he said, adding that some 700-800 people have brought the metropolis' fruit and vegetable market fully under their control.
He said his department has asked the law enforcement forces to set up a police station in the center.
The official further noted that the supply and price of apples has reached critical level, adding that officials believe apple production has increased by 7-8 percent while producers have reported a 30-percent decline.
"The Ministry of Agriculture Jihad's proposal for apple imports has been rejected on health grounds," he said, adding that the daily supply of fruits in Tehran has decreased from 250 tons to 10 tons.
Some experts blame exorbitant prices of fruits on a powerful mafia network, which they say controls the agro market.
They further say the relevant organizations' failure to create a balance between supply and demand is responsible for the abnormal prices.
Although climatic conditions and level and timing of precipitations would determine the volume of supply of agro products, prices of these products can be reduced through an efficient management system and a clampdown on the middleman networks.

TEHRAN, Sept. 28--The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will extend loans worth 34 million euros to three Iranian companies: Iran Tire, Zam Zam and Pars Aluminum.
According to Petroenergy Information Network, in its letter to Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, the bank announced the loan offer worth 20, 4, and 10 million euros to Iran Tire, Zam Zam and Pars Aluminum companies respectively.
The loans will be made available to Iranian manufacturing companies under the Import Trade Finance Operations credit. The companies are required to, after meeting IDB requirements, announce their confirmation of the provisions of the agreement.
The bank usually finances imports, mainly raw material from other member states or Islamic countries at low interest rates.
Promoting economic development and social progress of member countries as well as Muslim communities are the main objectives of the IDB which has a membership of 55 countries. The IDB's principal office is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

TABRIZ,
East Azarbaijan,
Sept. 28--Italian Ambassador to Tehran Roberto Tuscano met with Governor General of East Azarbaijan province Mohammad-Ali Sobhanollahi here on Monday evening to discuss cooperation between the two sides, reported IRNA.
At the meeting, Sobhanollahi referred to the consolidated ties between Iran and Italy and said the balanced trend in cooperation was established through efforts of officials from the two countries.
Alluding to the industrial status and infrastructure of East Azarbaijan province, Sobhanollahi called for further economic, industrial, commercial and scientific ties between Tabriz and Rome. He also listed minerals, tourism, biotechnology, nano-technology as well as information technology (IT) as possible areas of cooperation.
The Italian ambassador, for his part said that some factories with high-quality products, which are exported to Italy, are active in Iran. Tuscano also said that mere buying and selling of commodities were not sufficient for bolstering international ties, adding that further activities in this regard is inevitable.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 28--A senior Pakistani senator has expressed support for the proposed tripartite gas pipeline project from Iran to India via Pakistan, saying the project will benefit all the three countries.
Speaking to IRNA, Syed Dilawar Abbas, chairman of the Pakistan Senate's Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources, said that discussions about the gas pipeline project in the meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York last week, was a welcome development.
The project, envisioned in the 1990s, has not seen any progress in practical terms mainly due to strained Pakistani-Indian ties.
However, the recent thaw in relations and the number of confidence-building measures taken by both sides since the peace process started in February this year have rekindled hopes in the project.
The senator further cited discussions between Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and his Indian counterpart, Natwar Singh, in New Delhi a few weeks ago in which the project figured prominently.
Abbas, who said that Pakistan was looking into three options regarding its gas imports, that is, Iran, Turkmenistan, or Qatar, favored the Iran-Pakistan-India project, saying this project was economical and more practical.
He added that their committee had made recommendations to the government to this effect.
In response to a question, he said that even if India was reluctant to go for the project, Iran and Pakistan need not waste more time in starting work on the project as Islamabad needed gas to meet the increased need for energy for household and commercial use.
New Delhi has softened its stance on the matter and indicated its willingness.
In the weekly briefing on Monday afternoon, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said that the oil and gas ministers of Pakistan and India will meet soon to discuss cooperation in the field and the possibility of realizing the project.
For its part, Islamabad has assured Tehran and New Delhi that it would provide foolproof security for the gas pipeline, which is to be laid on Pakistani territory up to India.

YEREVAN, Armenia,
Sept. 28--Armenia plans to generate up to 20 percent of its electricity from Iranian gas, Armen Movsesian, the Armenian energy minister, told reporters.
According to Petroenergy Information Network, Armenian officials earlier said Armenia would export all the electricity it generates with Iranian gas to Iran and, possibly, to Georgia.
The Energy Ministry said it would export three kilowatt/hours of electricity to Iran for each cubic meter of gas it receives.
Armenia and Iran have signed a $30-million agreement to finance the construction of the Armenian section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. The pipeline extends for 141 km, including 41 km in Armenia and 100 km in Iran. The project is estimated to cost about $220 million. The pipeline is expected to become operational before January 1, 2007.
Gas should start to arrive in Armenia from January 2007 and will be used at Armenian thermal power plants to produce electricity for export to Iran. Iran will supply 36 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Armenia over 20 years under the deal.