AN ANALYSIS OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE OF PISTACHIO PRODUCTION AND EXPORT IN IRAN

This paper focuses on the comparative advantage in Pistachio production and the export market in Iran. A policy analysis matrix (PAM) framework and revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index are applied to 1998-2011 data to study Iranian government policy regarding Pistachio production and export. In addition, the producer protection indices in the framework of the aforementioned matrix were calculated in order to study input and output protection policy. Results showed that Iran has a comparative advantage both in the production and export of this commodity, but the comparative advantage in pistachio production is diminishing. The RCA index showed that the comparative advantage of pistachio exports from Iran has progressed.