Virtual Water Trade between Iran and CIS

With decreasing per capita water, the scarcity of this vital resource has intensified and the world water misdistribution has worsened the water crisis. Therefore, the optimal management and allocation of water resources are become doubly important specially in the agriculture sector. In this framework, the present study has investigated the foreign trade of virtual water for the product groups of Iranian agriculture with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2018. For this purpose, using the partial equilibrium method, first the water requirement of plants are calculated and then, by processing the data of Iran’s bilateral trade, the volume of virtual water embodied in Iran’s trade flows and trade balance with the selected countries is measured and examined. The results of the present study show that Iran was net importers of virtual water in the trade of agricultural products with the CIS in 2018. On the other hand, the present study shows that 70.5 percent of virtual water of the agricultural export to the selected countries in 2018 was through the blue water, while in the same year, 81.3 percent of water embodied in the import from the region was related to the green water. This issue, in addition to indicating the improper use of water resources for the production and export of agricultural products in Iran, if continued, could lead to a reduction in national reserves of fresh water resources in Iran. According to the findings of the present study, it is suggested that special attention must be paid to the water needs and virtual water trade in the formulation of agricultural strategies and upstream policy documents. In addition to the promotion of water efficiency, it is also recommended that the necessary technical and economic considerations must be adopted in the optimal allocation of virtual water components.