Identifying and Prioritizing the Selection Criteria of Estahban's International Dried Fig Market

Estahban’s dried fig is one of the most important export products in the agricultural sector and the best type of dried fig in the world. Surveys indicate that most fig exporters have weaknesses in international marketing, positioning and maintaining it, and they generally use the unsystematic method in international market selection. Meanwhile, choosing the right market is one of the primary factors of success and growth of companies in global markets, which requires the use of different criteria and the use of systematic methods in their analysis. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize market selection criteria for large and small companies that export Estahban’s dried figs. For this purpose, 40 criteria and sub-criteria for the selection of international dried fig markets were identified and prioritized using the fuzzy hierarchical analysis method. The required information at this stage was collected by completing 17 questionnaires from large and small trading companies of Estehban’s dried figs. The results of the research showed that large and small companies have different subjective preferences for each of the model indicators. Also, the highest priority among the examined criteria in large commercial companies is given to economic factors and in small commercial companies to market potential.