Figures published by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Customs Administration (IRICA) showed that earnings from tomato exports in the first two months of the current Iranian year, starting March 20, had topped $97 million, Press TV reported.

Another report by IRICA said that exports of watermelons from Iran had increased year-on-year in late May, to stand at over 117,000 tons.

It said that Iran had made over $7 million from watermelon exports to neighboring Turkey in April and May, saying the income accounted for 25 percent of the total exports of the fruit from Iran in the two-month period.

IRICA figures indicate that Iran shipped a total of nearly 210,000 tons of tomatoes to other countries between late March and late May. The main export destinations include Iraq, which received more than half of the tomato shipments, followed by Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A spokesman of the Iranian customs office said that Iran could have further increased its exports of farming products over the past two months if restrictions imposed over the COVID-19 pandemic had not caused a halt to shipments.

Rising exports of agro foods from Iran have played a key role in government policies to offset the impacts of US sanctions on the country’s sale of oil.

The tomato exports have also caused a major boom in the agriculture sector of Iran, encouraging expanded farming for profitable crops across the country.