Foreign trade of nuts and medicinal plants of Kerman in the Qajar period

Kerman was a workshop center during the Qajar period. The most important commercial goods of Kerman throughout the Qajar period were shawls and carpets of Kerman, which sometimes accounted for more than 99% of Kerman’s exports. In the list of commercial items of Kerman in the Qajar period, plant products and dried fruits were also abundantly available. Therefore, the main issue is the ratio of agricultural and plant products with workshop products in Kerman. The present study, with the nature of economic history and a combination of statistical and descriptive-analytical methods, sought an answer to the question: What was the place of nuts and medicinal plants in Kerman’s foreign trade during the Qajar period? The results showed that pistachio, almond, cumin, tragacanth gum and henna were the most important nuts and medicinal plants of Kerman in the Qajar period. These items were the most important export merchandise of Kerman after the production of workshops including shawls and carpets. Each of these goods was considered as the most important commercial product of Kerman after Kerman carpet. But among them, pistachio was the most important export product of Kerman after carpet. Pistachio export in 1328-1327 AH / 1909-1910 AD alone accounted for 4.60% of the total foreign export figure of Kerman. The value of these products in relation to the total exports of Kerman ranged from 0.44 to 11.08 percent