A total of $700 million worth of dairy products are exported from Iran annually, according to the secretary of Iran Dairy Industries Union.
Iran is among the top milk producing countries in the world.
“Close to 7 million tons of milk are produced in the country annually, 450,000 tons of which are exported as dairy products,” Reza Bakeri was also quoted as saying by Mizan Online.
The official noted that Iran’s main dairy importers are Iraq, Afghanistan and Russia, adding that Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Japan, Azerbaijan and Armenia are other export destinations.
According to Bakeri, Iran's dairy industry has created around 120,000 direct and 480,000 indirect jobs.
“More than 2 million people are employed across the dairy production chain from the raw materials and input sector to animal farms, factories and distribution sector,” he said.
Latest data provided by Abdolmehdi Bakhshandeh, deputy agriculture minister for planning and economic affairs, show dairy products worth $320 million were the main agrifood exported from Iran during the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Oct. 22).
Iran’s main dairy importers are Iraq, Afghanistan and Russia, adding that Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Japan, Azerbaijan and Armenia are other export destinations
"The main exported goods in this subcategory were 45,000 tons of cheese and dried whey worth $91 million, 63,000 tons of milk and cream worth $79 million, 25,000 tons of ice-cream worth $61 million and 123,000 tons of yoghurt worth $69 million," he was quoted as saying by ILNA.
Hosseing Chamani, an advisor to Iran Dairy Industries Union, told Fars News Agency that per capita milk consumption in Iran stands at 80 kilograms per year, which is very low and should stand at a minimum of 270 kilograms.
According to FAO, Iran is among the medium-consumption countries with a dairy consumption rate of 30-150 kg per capita per year. Other countries in this category are India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, North and South Africa, most of the Middle East, and most of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Costa Rica, Europe, Kyrgyzstan, North America and Pakistan are among high-consumption countries that consume more than 150 kg per capita per year.
The low-consumption countries and regions consuming under 30 kg per capita per year include Senegal, most of Central Africa and most of East and Southeast Asia.
Milk contributes 27% to the global value added of livestock and 10% to that of agriculture.
The global dairy sector is growing fast. World milk production is projected to increase by 177 million tons by 2025, at an average growth rate of 1.8% per annum in the next 10 years.
Over the same period, per capita consumption of dairy products is projected to increase by 0.8% and 1.7% per year in developing countries, and between 0.5% and 1.1% in developed economies.
Because of the sheer size of the dairy industry, these growth rates can produce big development payoffs for people’s livelihoods, the environment and public health.
