alireza karbasi

The efficiency estimation of industry-specific exports plays a vital role in identifying export potentials and appropriate marketing strategies. This paper aimed to investigate the main determinants of Iran’s seafood exports to its 32 trading partners from 2001 to 2018, using the Stochastic Frontier Gravity (SFG) model. Moreover, this paper analyzed the efficiency and export potentials of Iran’s seafood to its trading partners. The findings confirmed the consistency of SFG for Iran’s seafood exports. The results indicated that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Iran and its trading partners had significant positive effects. In contrast, the bilateral exchange rate, common border, common religion, distance, economic crisis, and sanctions had significant negative effects on Iran’s seafood exports. In addition, the results of export efficiency revealed that Iran has great export potential to its trading partners, particularly neighboring countries. People's awareness of the benefits of seafood in neighboring countries with low consumption can increase their demand and increase Iran's exports to them. Considering the high export potential in these countries with high religious and cultural similarities, it is suggested that Iran should strengthen its food trade relations with neighboring countries such as Iraq, Turkmenistan, Lebanon, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan.

Today, the businesses of the poultry industry are facing many challenges, because this industry has to manage a number of unique processes, methods and risks at the same time. Therefore, identifying the business risks of poultry production units can play an effective role in reducing the level of vulnerability of these businesses. Considering the need to increase the productivity of the poultry industry, one of the basic solutions is to identify the risk and measure the existing risks of this industry. Risk identification and quantification can reduce costs for industry stakeholders, and risk reduction leads to better production planning. In this regard, this study identifies the business risks of poultry production units in Khorasan Razavi province.

This study is applied as purpose and descriptive survey in terms of nature and method. This research is based on mixed research, qualitatively and quantitatively. The statistical population is poultry industry experts, 18 of whom were investigated by snowball sampling method as the research sample. This study proposes a new Delphi technique that uses the features of traditional Delphi techniques and the Fuzzy Delphi method. The proposed new Delphi technique is based on the integration of pentagonal fuzzy sets and the Delphi technique.

The results of the modified pentagonal Fuzzy Delphi method showed that five main risks and 36 secondary risks out of 58 identified risks are part of the business risks of poultry production units. Identified business risks of poultry production units, in order of priority, include inputs price fluctuations, command pricing, exchange rate fluctuations, sanctions, chicken price fluctuations, delay in accessing inputs, fluctuations in the purchase price of day-old chickens, fluctuations in drug and vaccine prices, imported inputs, lack of government support in the matter of production, fluctuations in subsidies to inputs, lack of animal inputs, import of poultry products, Promulgation of various instructions, poultry diseases, lack of liquidity of poultry farmers, bankruptcy of poultry farmers, fluctuations in current costs, losses, lack of medicine and vaccines, lack of expansion of poultry business, lack of confidence of poultry farmers in the government, fluctuations in profitability, investment, seasonal fluctuations in egg demand, dependence of poultry farmers on Special suppliers, supply of day-old chicks, lack of energy, exclusivity of the livestock and poultry feed supply system, egg price fluctuations, seasonal fluctuations in chicken production, seasonal fluctuations in chicken demand, weakness in providing working capital facilities to poultry farmers, lack of skilled human resources in time Appropriate, lack of technical knowledge of advanced technologies and lack of variety of poultry food ingredients.

The business of poultry production units is facing various challenges and risks, and due to the many risks of this industry, production in this industry is facing problems and it is not possible to plan for it, and production will be disrupted in the future. Therefore, in this research, an effort was made to fully identify the business risks of poultry production units. In order to complete and finalize the business risks of poultry production units, the pentagonal Fuzzy Delphi method was used. In this regard, a questionnaire was prepared that included two parts. The first part is about the survey and information about the background of the respondents, and the second part includes the ranking of 54 identified risks. Fuzzy Delphi method in this study was done in two rounds and based on the opinion of experts, 4 more risks were added to the total of 54 risks, and finally 58 risks were analyzed using Fuzzy Delphi method. In Fuzzy Delphi, the selection of risk components among all the components that were identified in the research literature was based on the accepted threshold criterion. The results of the second round of modified pentagonal Fuzzy Delphi showed that there are 36 important sub-risks in the sector of production, market, financial, institutional and personal business risks of poultry production units. Considering the price fluctuations of livestock inputs and exchange rate fluctuations, it is suggested to allocate currency and control it by government policies in order to reduce mentioned fluctuations, or move towards diversifying poultry feed ingredients and formulating new poultry feed rations. Also, in order to avoid fluctuations in the price of chicken or eggs, it is suggested to make the distribution network smarter to prevent these fluctuations. In the poultry market, it is better to set a fair price for each kilogram of chicken according to the production costs of poultry farmers, or not to interfere with the government in the market and allow the government to set the price based on the supply and demand mechanism.

In Iran, consumer cooperatives are among the oldest and at the same time with the oldest cooperatives to respond to common needs and at the same time promote teamwork and cooperation. These cooperatives play a vital role in achieving social justice and fair distribution of wealth. In recent years, although the number of consumer cooperatives has increased, the number of its members has grown less compared to the number of consumer cooperatives. In this regard, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors influencing consumers' intention to join consumer cooperatives using the theory of planned behavior. The demographics of the research are all the consumers of Mashhad city in 2022 and using Cochran's formula, 385 people were determined as the sample size. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, whose validity and reliability were confirmed by content validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient calculation, respectively. Data analysis was done with PLS software. The results of this research show that subjective norms have the greatest effect on consumers' intention to join consumer cooperatives. Also, the two variables of attitude and perceived behavioral control affect the intention of consumers to become members of consumer cooperatives. These three variables can explain 56% of the variance of people's intention to join cooperatives. The predominant focus of recent studies on member membership has been mainly on production cooperatives. This study is different from previous researches and emphasizes the analysis of consumers' intention to join consumer cooperatives.

The increasing concern of consumers about the quality and safety of agricultural products all over the world has caused organic products to become one of the most popular options for healthy. The increasing trend and consumption of organic agricultural products has led to the increasing growth of the market of these products in the last two decades. Due to the importance of entering and gaining a share of this growing market, this study investigates the factors affecting the international organic products market entry and determines the appropriate strategy for entering it using structural equation modeling. The data of this study was obtained by collecting 90 questionnaires from producers of organic saffron, pistachio, and raisin products in the year 2021 with available sampling method in Khorasan Razavi province. The obtained results indicate that the variables of risk and motivation to enter the international market directly and the production and marketing ownership indirectly and through influencing the motivation to enter the international market, influence the international market entry strategy. Based on this, the appropriate strategy for entering the international market of organic products, indirect, cooperative and non-attendance strategies such as indirect export, contract production and joint investment was obtained. Therefore, it is suggested that the government should remove or reduce the risks caused by sanctions and obstacles to enter the market for the direct presence of organic product producers in international markets.

Although Sistan and Baluchestan Province is renowned for its handicrafts and has the potential ‎to contribute significantly to the local economy, the industry has not yet met expectations. The ‎downturn in demand in the handicraft market has not only eroded the incentive to enter this ‎industry, but also made some people unemployed in this area and had other side effects, such as ‎an increase in rural-to-city migration and the lack of production of some handicrafts. In this ‎regard, the purpose of this study is to evaluate and rate barriers to market development in the ‎handicraft cooperatives of this province. The present research is applied and quantitative and ‎the required information has been extracted using questionnaires and interviews with activists ‎and experts of this field in Sistan and Baluchestan province. A total of 40 questionnaires were ‎collected in 2022 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show that ‎the limited holding of national or international exhibitions of handicrafts, investors' ‎unwillingness to invest in handicrafts due to restrictive mechanisms and inadequate public ‎propaganda to recognize the effects of handicrafts (especially tourists) are the most important ‎barriers to the development of handicraft market are. The lack of design and use of integrated ‎and scientific marketing systems for selling products by manufacturing companies, and the ‎inability to sell handmade products directly by manufacturers, are also serious barriers to the ‎lack of development of the province's handicraft market. However, the mismatch of provincial ‎handicraft production with consumer tastes, diversity and product attractiveness is not a serious ‎obstacle to the development of crafts markets. ‎

Saffron is one of the strategic products of the agricultural sector in Iran’s South Khorasan province, the second largest producer which has a special place in Iran's non-oil exports. Unfortunately, the dispersion of saffron lands and the existence of smallholder units, while increasing costs and reducing yields, have made it difficult to use new technology and implement modern irrigation projects and has reduced the profit, productivity and production efficiency of saffron growers in the region so that in recent years, many saffron growers have gradually devoted saffron lands to other crops. Land consolidation strategy is of great economic and agricultural importance. This strategy can lead to the optimal use of production inputs. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the land integration by saffron growers in Ghaenat county in South Khorasan province. In the completed questionnaire, lands were divided into three levels of small, medium and large-scale farms in terms of size. The results showed that the final effects of the variables of number of households, new technology and tools, knowledge of new production methods, existence of risk in production and performance have been effective on the integration of saffron farmers' lands in both medium and large land levels. In level 2 lands with medium scale (between 3 to 5 hectares), the variables of yield, technology and new tools and knowledge of new methods of saffron production have a significant negative, negative and positive effect on the use of medium scale lands, respectively. Level 3 lands (large scale), the effect of two variables on the number of households and the existence of risk in saffron production on land integration and use of large-scale lands have been negative and significant and the three variables of saffron yield per hectare, new technology and tools and Knowledge of new methods of saffron production with sizes of 0.003, 0.16 and 0.06, respectively, has a positive and significant effect on land integration or large-scale land use. Therefore, by increasing the yield of saffron per hectare, new technology and tools and knowledge of new production methods provide better conditions for land integration and large-scale land use. Therefore, it is suggested that by awareness and informing saffron farmers about new technology and tools, as well as by training and acquiring more specialized knowledge in the field of saffron production, farmers from land integration or the use of large-scale lands in order to improve efficiency and productivity will be further supported.

Sustainable production of organic food requires the attention to the demand side and the driving factors behind the intention to purchase organic food. Therefore, the present study attempts to evaluate the most important driving factors of intention to purchase organic food using the theory of planned behavior and structural equation modeling. The data for this study were obtained by collecting 160 questionnaires from consumers in Mashhad using convenience sampling method in 2019. The results revealed that the behavioral attitudes, perceived behavioral control, environmental concern and health consciousness have a positive and significant effect (0.26, 0.19, 0.22, and 0.18, respectively) on intention to purchase organic food. Also, the environmental concern and health consciousness indirectly influence the intention to purchase organic food by affecting the behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and perceived quality of the product. According to the results, it is suggested that information be provided on issues related to personal health and food safety, as well as the consequences of environmental degradation to consumers.

Today, in order to meet the food needs of the growing population, agricultural systems have slightly increased their production by using new technologies. Although this increase in production has been able to solve the problem of food shortages to some extent, but has always been associated with adverse environmental consequences and problems with the health status of humans and other living organisms due to reduced food quality. This has raised concerns about health, safety and the environment in food production and consumption. Accordingly, consumers are looking for a variety of products with higher quality and healthier. Although the demand for organic and healthy food is increasing, these products face problems in entering the consumer basket of households.

The present study attempts to understand the underlying reasons for consumer resistance toward consuming organic food using the theoretical framework of innovation resistance theory (IRT).The required data were collected by collecting 100 questionnaires in 2020 from the citizens of Khuzestan. Structural Equation Modeling approach has been used to analyze the collected data.

The results showed that value barrier shared a negative association with consumer buying behavior. In other words, price plays a decisive role in consumer buying behavior. Therefore, the higher the price difference between organic food products and alternative products, can have a negative effect on consumers' purchases of these products. Another barrier that affects consumer purchasing is barriers to use. This means that access to organic food information and sales centers has a significant impact on the purchase of organic food. The results also showed that despite the significant effect of risk and consumer distrust in these products, consumers tend to consume these products and consumers consider these products healthier than traditional products.

Iran's recent years of experience show that the economy's dependence on crude oil sales results in instability of export income. Saffron is one of the important export items of the agricultural and medicinal plants sector, which in recent years has despite the increase in the area under cultivation and production, the export has not grown in line with it. Khorasan Razavi province is one of the leading provinces in the production and trade of this product. This study aims to present the multidimensional index of export development and examine the factors affecting this index regarding the saffron product in Khorasan Razavi and its trading countries in the period of 2011-2020. The necessary statistics and information were collected from 24 exporting companies active in this field in Razavi Khorasan province and 14 exporting companies in Germany, Italy, India and China by completing a questionnaire. In order to investigate the foreign trade network of saffron and the factors affecting the export development index, a three-dimensional panel model was used. The export development index was measured using the sub-indices of export performance, export management and export strategy. The results showed that the company's history, company size, marketing strategies, export standards, research and development costs, government support policy index, and government foreign diplomacy, value of domestic products, brand development and marketing mixes are among the factors affecting the development index. It is the export of medicinal plants.

Food security is critically tied with people's lives and social stability. Food security can be defined as access to sufficient nutritious food and forms the first pillar of economic growth and development. Hence, its attainment would be the main goal of every country. Thereby, it is necessary to examine the factors that can help enhance the food security of the region. In line with this objective, the purpose of the present study is to examine the factors affecting the food security of select countries between 2008-2019. For this purpose, the modus operandi of this paper utilizes the Pedroni Cointegration Method to determine the long-term relationship between the variables under investigation. The results obtained indicate that GDP per capita and the share of rural population have a positive and significant effect on food security. On the other hand, population growth and internal conflicts have a negative and significant impact on food security. Therefore, any efforts towards maintain peace, controlling population growth and improving the abovementioned variables will enhance food security and development.

In Islam, Tayeb refers to conformity of products with standards of organic, halal, and functional in the chain of production to consumption based on five principles including halal status, health, authenticity, attractiveness (decoration), and blessing. The aim of this research is to evaluate the consumers' point of view on special value of Tayeb brand and to investigate their willingness to pay for purchase of Tayeb products.

The current research is a practical descriptive study. A questionnaire was used for data collection, and a simple random sampling method was used due to the unlimited statistical population. Using the Cochran's formula of unlimited society, 119 food consumers in Khorasan Razavi province were studied in 2022. The research hypotheses were tested using structural equation method and SmartPLS software.

The results showed that attitude towards Tayeb brand had a significant positive effect on awareness and perceived quality of the consumers and also the brand’s association in them with respect to the brand. However, effect of viewpoint on Tayeb brand on loyalty was not confirmed. In addition, internal effect of special value dimensions of the brand was evaluated in this study. The results confirmed the effect of consumers’ awareness on brand’s association and perceived quality. Moreover, effect of perceived quality and awareness in the consumers on loyalty was confirmed. In comparison, effect of brand’s association on loyalty was not confirmed. The attitude towards Tayeb brand and loyalty of the consumers to the brand had a significant positive effect on the consumers' willingness for payment.

The key to the success of regional development policy and endogenous development is to emphasize the specific characteristics of the target region, using the potential of human resources, institutions and local physical resources. This study aims to determine the actual and potential sub-sectors for agricultural development planning in Khorasan Razavi province, and aims to provide a correct understanding of the capabilities and restrictions of the provincial cities in each agricultural sub-sectors. For this purpose, analytical models of the spatial coefficient in the spatial economy have been used to measure the actual and potential local advantages of the cities in order to plan the development of the agricultural sector of Khorasan Razavi Province and the data from 2012 to 2017 extracted from the statistical yearbooks of the agricultural jihad of Khorasan Razavi Province. Based on the results of the static spatial coefficient analysis in Khorasan Razavi province, livestock and fisheries sub-sectors are considered basic. Also, the three sub-sectors of horticulture, fisheries and livestock have high development potential in the province. Although there is no need to worry about the status of horticultural and fisheries sub-sectors in Khorasan Razavi province, the declining share of the livestock sub-sector in the added value of the agricultural sector of the province as well as the decrease in the number of advantageous cities, especially in the production of red meat, requires the special attention of policy makers towards this sub-sector. Conducting such studies can be effective in future planning for the continuous production of agricultural products both at the provincial and national levels. Improving investment security in this sub-sector at advantageous points in order to increase investment beyond compensating the depreciation of existing investments can be considered as one of the main solutions.

Tayyib brand has been proposed with the aim of supporting Muslims through the implementation of a food chain based on Islamic principles. Any deviation between the goals of the brand owners and the consumers' perspective leads to a gap between them, which is considered as the brand gap. Brand gap analysis helps brand owners in formulating strategies and increasing the quality and quantity of life cycle. According to the purpose, the present research is practical and based on a descriptive survey and a cross-sectional method. A five-point Likert questionnaire with 28 items was used to collect data. 130 consumers and potential customers completed the questionnaire as a sample size. In order to estimate the research measurement model, confirmatory factor analysis was used by AMOS software. The findings of the research show that according to the obvious variables extracted from Aaker's model, the importance of all four functional areas in the research conceptual model, including Business processes, customer-oriented, financial and innovation perspective, has been confirmed. These areas had a significant relationship with the main construct under study, that is, the explanation of Tayyib brand gap. Customer-oriented variables, the least, and Business processes, have contributed the most to creating brand gap. Therefore, the improvement of the variables related to the field of business processes, especially the transfer of brand identity and confidence in the score of tayyib indicators, is a priority, and it is also necessary to control the strengths in customer-oriented variables.

Given the dynamic nature of saffron exports in the country, the analysis of export growth of this product based on the difference between export values ​​between two specific times, does not give a proper understanding of the stability of trade relations between Iran and exporting partners. Considering the importance of saffron exports, this study investigates the export relations of this product during the period 1997-2018 using the Kaplan Meyer survival function and estimating the semi-parametric Cox model. The results of Kaplan Meyer's analysis showed that only 20% of saffron export relations remained until the end of the period under review. Estimates obtained from the Cox model also showed that factors such as higher production, longer trade relations, and higher GDP of countries, decreased the risk of losing an export relationship by 0.006%, 0.33%, and 0.007%, respectively. Also, exports to Asian countries have a lower risk of loss than other countries. Given these results, boosting exports to trading partners with larger economies, and establishing marketing networks and product supply chains which ensures a more coordinated and sustainable supply of the product is important and recommended.

Saffron as a valuable medicinal plant has a great importance in Iran. The global tendency of consumers toward sustainable products has led to produce saffron with organic, natural and safe labels. Developing of saffron production with organic, natural and safe labels requires the recognition of consumers’ awareness and their behavior (preferences) towards these labels. Therefore, this study tries to study the factors affecting the consumers’ preferences for saffron with the mentioned labels by clustering consumers based on awareness indicators about these labels. For this purpose, K-mean clustering algorithm and Ordered Logit model and the data collected through interviews with 144 visitors of Mashhad exhibition of safe and organic products in 2019 were used. The results revealed that the consumers could be classified into two clusters of aware and unaware regarding labels of organic, natural and safe based on the four indicator related to awarness. The Ordered Logit model estimates showed that the increase in education level, monthly household income and positive attitude to nutritional value of labeled saffron will increase the probability of placing consumers in the group with the preference of consuming organic labeled saffron compared to the two groups preferring to consume saffron with organic label in both clusters. According to the findings, it is suggested that in the regions where families with higher incomes live, the supply of organic saffron, and the number of stores supplying organic products in general will be increased.

This study aimed to improve the level of quality classification of saffron and increase farmers' profits by creating a hypothetical market to investigate the factors affecting selection and the willingness of farmers to pay for saffron quality testing using contingent valuation method and open-ended question. data were collected by a questionnaire from a random sample of 170 saffron producers in Khorasan Razavi province. Two-stage Heckman model was used to identify the factors influencing choice and estimation of willingness to pay. data analysis showed that about 48 percent of farmers are willing to pay an additional amount for a quality test, of which 29 percent showed willingness to pay more than 900,000 rials per kilogram of flower. The results of the model's estimation also showed that age, education, land ownership and history of saffron quality testing in the past have a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of choosing and the amount of willingness to pay extra for quality testing. Accordingly, the use of proper and comprehensive training, holding public organizations and promotional activities can play an effective role in encouraging farmers to conduct quality tests.Key words: Saffron, Willingness to pay, Contingent valuation, Two-stage Hackman model.This study aimed to improve the level of quality classification of saffron and increase farmers' profits by creating a hypothetical market to investigate the factors affecting selection and the willingness of farmers to pay for saffron quality testing using contingent valuation method and open-ended question. data were collected by a questionnaire from a random sample of 170 saffron producers in Khorasan Razavi province. Two-stage Heckman model was used to identify the factors influencing choice and estimation of willingness to pay. data analysis showed that about 48 percent of farmers are willing to pay an additional amount for a quality test, of which 29 percent showed willingness to pay more than 900,000 rials per kilogram of flower. The results of the model's estimation also showed that age, education, land ownership and history of saffron quality testing in the past have a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of choosing and the amount of willingness to pay extra for quality testing. Accordingly, the use of proper and comprehensive training, holding public organizations and promotional activities can play an effective role in encouraging farmers to conduct quality tests.Key words: Saffron, Willingness to pay, Contingent valuation, Two-stage Hackman model.

Over the past decades, increasing in consumption of goods and services led to the destruction of natural resources and severe damage to the environment, which has led many consumers to reduce environmental impact caused by their consumption. In this study, it has been tried to investigate the effect of knowledge on environmental issues, consumer perception and consumer recycling behavior on the purchasing behavior of green products using structural equation modeling method. For this purpose, it was used 215 consumers in the city of Mashhad in 1396.The results of structural equation modeling suggest that consumerschr('39') perception or attitude is the most important predictor of the purchasing behavior of green food products, which attempts to raise awareness of consumers can be one of the most important measures through advertising tools to introduce their various abilities to reduce environmental degradation.

Today the incomes of the rural non-farm sector (ie the income from wage and self-employment activities in trade, production and services) are an important source of income for farmers and other rural households, including those without land. This has led policymakers to develop these activities in rural areas. For this purpose, the present study has considered the income structure of rural households in Neyshabur county and its related factors. The data is gathered through a questionnaire survey carried out on 380 rural households from four districts (Zabarkhan, Markazi, Sarvelayat and Mianjolgeh) in the Neyshabour county. The survey is conducted between September 2017 to February 2018. The household was chosen through a multi-stage stratified random sampling. In this study, according to various studies such as Davis et al (2017), rural household income is divided into two groups: farm income (crop, orchard and livestock) and non-farm income (non-farm self-employment, wage employment, pension- profit -rent and cash subsidy) have been divided and multilevel Tobit models have been used to investigate the determinants of rural household income in each of these groups. The results of the questionnaire show that 51.16% of the average income (21.19 million Tomans) of a rural household in Neyshabur in 2016-2017 from farm and 48.83% from the non-farm sector .The results showed that household head characteristics such as age, sex and education did not affect the farm income and the income of this sector was dependent on variables such as farmland size, farmland ownership, number of livestock and number of employees in the sector. In addition, the results revealed that higher education of the household head only affected non-farm wage income and access to credit only on non-farm self-employment income. It is noteworthy that the increase in the number of households employed if they were engaged in non-farm self-employment has generated more annual household income than all five groups of rural households.

Saffron is one of the most valuable and important agricultural products in Iran, and, it is necessary to consider the preferences of consumers to develop its market. Consumers have different needs and wants, and by benefit segmenting the saffron market, companies can understand customers' preferences in each segment of the market correctly. Therefore, in this study, using the crisp and fuzzy clustering algorithms, the saffron market was divided into homogenous segments, and then, using the results of the conjoint analysis; consumer preferences, attitudes, and demographic characteristics were examined in each saffron market segment. The necessary data were collected from 400 respondents using a stratified sampling method from 13 districts of Mashhad, Iran. The results of this study showed that the saffron market could be divided into six homogeneous segments, and the fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm performs better at finding clusters than k-means, k-medoids, fuzzy Gustafson-Kessel and fuzzy Gath-Geva methods. According to the study findings, in most market segments, the weight of saffron and the packaging type are the most important attributes influencing purchase decisions. Based on the study results, it is suggested that saffron companies consider consumer preferences in different market segments when supplying saffron products and formulating marketing strategies.

Present research has been conducted with the aim of farmer awareness about role of saffron research on economical, social and environmental effects and their attitude and willing to application of Saffron research in Khorasan-e-Razavi. Questionnaire is the tool of collecting data that its credibility has been confirmed by experts in Saffron and its reliability by cronbakh α and combined reliability. Then, necessary information was collected by filling questionnaire by 100 Saffron farmers in 2018. Results of structure model of the research shows that farmer awareness from research role in economical, social and environmental effects on their attitude to research application for a positive and significant effect. Variables of awareness about research role in economical, social and environmental effects predicted 22% of the variation in the attitude variable to application of Saffron research and variable of attitude to application of Saffron research, Subjective norm and Control of perceived behavior predicted 61% of the variation in the variable of willing to use of Saffron research.

Nowadays due to the intensity of competition and continuous changes in environmental conditions, identification of customers' needs and wants is essential to gaining competitive advantage in domestic and international markets. Saffron is one of the most valuable and important agricultural products in Iran, and for the development of its market, it is necessary to consider the preferences of consumers of this product. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to rank and evaluate the effect of saffron attributes on the consumer utility of this product in Mashhad city. In this study, 3, 3 and 8 levels were considered for the trade name, packaging type and weight, respectively. In 2020, The data from 400 respondents were collected using a stratified sampling method (with proportionate allocation) from 13 districts of Mashhad-Iran. Using conjoint analysis, the results of the study showed that the weight of saffron marketed and the packaging type are important attributes influencing consumer preferences. In a more detailed analysis and taking into account the attribute levels, the results of the study confirmed that the highest utility values were found in saffron products with pocket packaging and weight of 4.608 gr. According to the study results, to design marketing strategies for different customer groups, saffron companies are recommended to pay more attention to consumer preferences in target markets.

Agriculture in arid and semiarid areas is dependent on groundwater extraction. Utilization of groundwater resources in Zaveh-Torbath Haydarieh plain is more than the aquifer's renewable potential, therefore, these resources have a reservoir deficit. To this end, in this study, using the information obtained from interviews with farmers in this plain, who were selected through cluster sampling in the year 2015-2016, and the use of the Tobit Model and the two-stage method of Hackman, factors influencing the extraction of groundwater resources were studied. The results of the two-stage Hackman model showed that, in the first stage, the explanatory variables including the dominant cultivation and personal and share ownership of water wells had a positive final effect of 0.35, 0.43 and 0.41, respectively, while variables of well depth, type of water transfer channel, and low yielding crops had a negative effect on overdraft of groundwater resources. In the second stage, the results showed that farm-to-well distance, farmer's annual income, and type of the dominant cultivation had a positive and significant effect at 5 percent on overdraft. Accordingly, paying more attention to the technical factors effective in water management, as well as raising farmers' awareness of their participation in improving cropping pattern, is an effective step in reducing overdraft of groundwater resources.

The production of chicken meat with sustainability labels or organic, green, and safe labels needs to understand consumers' preference towards these labels. So, this study aims to investigate factors affecting consumers’ preference for chicken meat consumption with sustainability labels using generalized ordered logit model. The data for this study were obtained by collecting 200 questionnaires from consumers in Mashhad using simple random sampling method in 2018. The results show that the variables including gender, frequency of chicken meat purchases per month and reasonable price to quality increase the probability of preferring chicken meat consumption with the green and safe label to organic chicken meat. Also, the variables of importance degree of chicken meat in the household basket, quality, nutritional value, trust and no chemicals increase the probability of preferring chicken meat consumption with the organic label to chicken meat with the green and safe label. According to the findings, it is suggested that marketers adopt different marketing strategies in accordance with consumer specification such as gender.

Trade agreements play an important role in reducing trade barriers and increasing trade flows among countries. Empirical researches indicate that the presence in trade agreements is not guarantee for increasing exports in all countries and products. Therefore, considering the importance of fishery exports in recent years and lack of study in this area, the aim of this paper is investigating the effect of Iran’s membership in trade agreements on fishery exports. To achieve the purpose, the gravity model and information of Iran’s fishery exports to 25 Asian countries with 88% share is used during the period of 2001-2016. Based on the results, Iran’s membership in the trade agreements has had a positive and significant effect on Iran’s fishery exports to trading partners. The results of the interaction between trade agreements and trade barriers showed that trade agreements reduced the effect of trade barriers such as geographical distance. So, it is suggested that exporters take advantage of the capacity created through the presence of trade agreements to identify new markets and develop appropriate long-term marketing programs to export to these markets.

Theories of international trade have emphasized specialization of countries and have considered this as a prerequisite to gain profit from trade. Iran has experienced a variety of forms of export of saffron as one of its important and valuable products to destination markets, which has made specialization in these markets doubtful. Therefore, this research study seeks to find out whether export of Iranian saffron in the world market and destination markets is moving towards specialization or not? In order to achieve this objective, the revealed comparative advantage index and the specialization pattern were investigated in the period of 2001-2018. The research findings have three main results. First, Iran's saffron exports have been associated with a de-specialization in the world market, and Spain, as Iran's most important export competitor, is on the paths to export specialization. Second, Iran has been specialized in saffron exports for the period 2001-2009 and has experienced a de-specialization in the 2010-2018 period. Third, Iran has been on the path of increasing specialization in only 15 percent of the destination markets (China, India, Hong Kong and Germany), and has a de-specialization in other markets. Because specialization in the destination market goes beyond identifying the demographic components of that market, it is suggested that long-term contracts be concluded with customers to adopt and implement production and marketing policies by further adapting the production and export of Iranian saffron to the culture of consumer markets.