The first international and specialized exhibition of meat and related industries known as Meatex opened in Tehran’s International Fairground on Saturday.
The four-day event is being held with the aim of providing Iran’s processed meat industry with domestic and foreign investments, and supplying halal products to Muslim countries, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the East European countries, says the executive manager of the exhibition, Hormoz Mahbod.
Fifty-one domestic firms as well as 34 foreign companies from Australia, Spain, Germany, Britain, China, Finland, Hong Kong, Greece, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan Republic, Lebanon, the Netherlands and the UAE are participating in the expo, IRNA reported.
“The whole chain of production, packaging, distribution, warehousing and the sale of red meat, poultry, seafood and processed meat products is included in this exhibition,” Mahbod said.
Mehdi Sadeqi-Niaraki, an official with the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, said Iran exported 3,000 tons of meat in the first half of the current Iranian year (started March 20).
He added that the total export of meat stood at 4,000 tons last year. According to the official, the production capacity of Iran’s 521 licensed meat producing plants stands at 1.05 million tons. This is while their annual production is estimated to hover around 600,000 tons.
