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Noticed pistachios everywhere recently? It’s no coincidence. Their rise is part of a years-long rivalry between the US and Iran that holds new weight in the face of war.
You’ll have heard of Dubai chocolate. The viral dessert has had TikTok under its kadayif covered thumb for over a year. You may even have tried your hand at making it – a simple recipe comprised of chocolate, tahini, shredded filo dough (kadayif) and pistachio paste.
The explosion of this sweet treat was so dramatic that it actually caused a global shortage of pistachios. In fact, before Dubai chocolate, pistachio paste (or cream) was infamously hard to find in UK supermarkets –and if you did track it down, it was likely to set you back a few quid.
But ever since our international hankering for the green nut got the backing of social media, pistachios have been falling surreptitiously into our laps. Every coffee shop you walk past seems to have some new pistachio-infused drink on the menu. Customers queue for hours to try that latest pistachio-flavoured dessert at their local bakery, and restaurants are finding ever-more creative ways to include the nut in their recipes.
Now, this might seem like the logical trajectory for a food stuff that’s gone viral on TikTok. But what if I told you there’s more to the global pistachio craze than meets the eye? Their growth and subsequent heavy-handed marketing are both deeply political. And now, as the US wages war on Iran, the pistachio’s ostensibly benign presence in our lives takes on new meaning.
That’s because these two countries, now embroiled in a bitter military battle, are the biggest producers of pistachios worldwide. This little nut is the most valuable non-oil earner for Iran, but over four decades, the US has fought to come out on top. Thanks to antidumping duty on Iranian pistachios, California – which produces 99% of US pistachios – has been able to acquire international markets from Iran, including China.
The global pistachio industry was a multi-billion dollar industry long before Dubai chocolate came on the scene. Ever since the Iranian revolution of 1979, Iran’s growers have faced pressures from sanctions, tariffs and restrictions on their ability to access international financial tools for the production and trade of pistachios.
It’s an industry that dates back thousands of years in Iran, yet only began in the 1930s in the US, where Persian seeds were used to plant and harvest the nut. Now, the US has achieved market dominance, producing 65% of global output as of 2023-2024. That’s despite the fact pistachio orchards are water-intensive, and have contributed to agricultural water demand pressures in California.
So it’s no surprise that pistachios are everywhere – in our drinks, on our toast, and bulking up our desserts. The US has achieved global supremacy in the pistachio industry, and now it’s hell-bent on ensuring we buy them.
