The Fifth International Fisheries Industry Exhibition, also known as “IFEX 2021”, is scheduled to be held in Tehran’s International Fairground from October 19 to 22.
Experts, businesspeople and the general public can visit the expo every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Iran Fisheries Organization wrote on its website.
The event has been organized for expanding Iran’s economic and technological cooperation with leading countries in the fisheries sector, finding new export destinations, introducing the latest domestic and foreign advancements, including harvest equipment, aquaculture machinery and seafood transportation fleet, and increasing seafood consumption, Ifex.ir reported.
Businesspeople in the fields of ornamental fish production, aquarium equipment, seafood packaging, fish feed, supplements and veterinary medicine and online seafood purchase platforms will showcase their latest achievements and services.
A total of 140,000 tons of seafood worth $430 million were exported from Iran to 26 countries in the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), according to the head of Iran Fisheries Organization.
“More than 693,000 tons of seafood were harvested from Iran’s water bodies and around 529,000 tons were produced in fish farms across the country,” Nabiollah Khounmirzaei was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official estimates that this year 700,000 tons of seafood will be harvested from seas and 800,000 tons more will be produced in aqua farms.
Iran is a major seafood producer in the region with trout, caviar and shrimp being the main exported products.
Over the past few years, Iran has set up cages for fish farming in the sea as well as water bodies behind dams, and is expanding the business as part of its plans to increase seafood production.
Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province in southwest Iran accounts for 40% of Iran's seafood production.
The province has the capacity to produce 240,000 tons of seafood per year.
Middle East's biggest seafood production unit is active in the industrial city of Shahr-e Kord.
Located 97 km of southwest of the central Iranian province of Isfahan, Shahr-e Kord is the top Iranian city for breeding salmon.
According to Isa Golshahi, an official with Iran Fisheries Organization, the country’s per capita seafood consumption reached 13.3 kilograms in the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), up 3.9% from 12.8 kilograms the year before.
