Impact of Price and Non-Price Factors on the Iranian Pistachios Market

Pistachios play a vital role in Iran’s agricultural export. Recently, however, Iran has lost considerable amount of its market share in international trade. This study aimed to address the price and non-price factors affecting the pistachio markets of Iran by estimating a structural system of equations. The domestic supply and demand for pistachios in Iran along with its export demand and supply to European Union, East Asia, and West Asia markets were estimated simultaneously, during 1988 to 2015. The results indicate that Research and Development (R&D) has had a positive effect on the pistachio supply and exports. Hence, it is proposed that the allocation of R&D funding in Iran be reconsidered. However, advertising has an insignificant effect on the Iranian’s export supply in international market. Hence, reviewing the type of advertisement is a vital issue for future research. European countries are less sensitive to the Iranian’s export price of pistachios, while they pay more attention to the quality and taste of the Iranian’s pistachio.