🌱 How can Iran turn its agricultural strengths into real export power in a non-oil future?

Iran’s agricultural sector holds major potential for foreign-exchange earnings, rural jobs, and sustainable growth. Yet it still faces serious barriers: weak infrastructure, currency volatility, customs hurdles, sanctions, and climate pressures.

In our new study we built a national strategic framework for boosting the competitiveness of Iran’s agricultural exports. Using SWOT analysis with data from 96 experts (snowball sampling), we identified 28 internal factors (14 strengths + 14 weaknesses) and 28 external factors (14 opportunities + 14 threats). We then ranked them with IFE/EFE matrices and prioritized strategies via the strategic-space and QSPM approach.

🔍 Three clear patterns emerged.

First, Iran already possesses strong competitive advantages: climatic diversity, rich genetic resources, proximity to regional markets, and leadership in strategic products such as saffron and pistachio.

Second, structural weaknesses remain decisive: inadequate cold-chain and transport infrastructure, limited branding, financial constraints for farmers, low productivity, and incomplete value chains.

Third, the strategic space clearly favors offensive (SO) strategies as the top priority, followed by competitive (ST), then corrective (WO) and defensive (WT) options.

🌍 Priority strategic directions include:

Expanding sustainable and organic production while attracting foreign investment and modern technologies (SO)

Reducing the impact of sanctions and climate risks by deepening regional markets and leveraging indigenous knowledge (ST)

Upgrading export infrastructure, product quality, and digital marketing (WO)

Managing currency volatility, reforming support policies, and optimizing supply-chain management (WT)

💡 The central message is straightforward:

Iran’s challenge is not a shortage of agricultural potential. It is converting that potential into diversified, resilient, and higher-value exports through coherent strategy, better infrastructure, smarter regulation, and stronger international linkages.

A clear national export roadmap based on these SWOT-derived priorities can help Iran raise the global competitiveness of its agricultural products and accelerate the shift toward a more diversified, non-oil economy.

📌 Reference:

Majidian, M. & Pishbahar, E. (2025). Designing a Strategic Framework to Increase the Competitiveness of Iran's Agricultural Exports: Analyzing Structural and Environmental Factors in the Transition to a Non-Oil Economy. Agricultural Economics, 19(3), 193–233. DOI: 10.22034/iaes.2025.2057807.2119.

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