A total of 37,500 tons of red meat were produced in Iran during the month ending Nov. 20 to register a 38% rise compared with the similar month of last year and a 5.3% month-on-month decline.
The Statistical Center of Iran's latest report shows beef accounted for 20,400 tons or 54.5% of total production, indicating a year-on-year increase of 44%.
About 13,300 tons of lamb (up 32% YOY), 3,000 tons of goat meat (up 36% YOY) and 801 tons of meat from other types of livestock were produced during the one-month period, accounting for 35.5%, 8% and 2% of the total output respectively, SCI reported on its website.
Iran’s red meat consumption has declined by 40% after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. This has inflicted losses on the country’s nomads and their economy that is mainly dependent on animal husbandry, says caretaker of Nomadic Affairs Organization affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry.
“Limitations placed on social events and gatherings due to the pandemic have resulted in the cancellation of weddings, funerals and religious ceremonies, and most restaurants have either closed down or have very few customers and delivery requests, which has in turn reduced red meat consumption,” Shahpour Alaei-Moqaddam was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official noted that under the circumstances, nomadic tribes are facing an oversupply of livestock, which threatens their livelihood.
Mansour Pourian, the head of Iran’s Livestock Exporters National Assembly, told Tasnim News Agency in April that restaurants, hotels and ceremony halls have the biggest share in red meat consumption in Iran.
Back in June, Karamali Qandali, the former head of Nomadic Affairs Organization, said red meat production by nomads in Iran is estimated to increase by 15-20% in the current Iranian year (March 2020-21), compared with last year amid high precipitation that has led to the bountiful growth of grass in meadows.
“At present, nomads own more than 9.5 million head of livestock and produce 190,000 tons of red meat per year, which meet 25% of domestic demand,” he said.
There are 213,000 nomadic households in Iran, which account for 1.2 million of Iran’s total population.
Nomadic production of red meat accounts for about a quarter of Iran’s total output.
“Iran’s red meat production is projected to rise by 2-3% by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2021), bringing the country closer to self-sufficiency,” Morteza Rezaei, deputy agriculture minister for livestock affairs, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“Iran’s red meat production stood at 859,000 tons last [fiscal] year [ended March 19, 2020]. The output is expected to hit 880,000 tons by the yearend.”
According to the official, heavy livestock constituted around 60% of the country’s red meat production last year.
Up to 160,000 tons of red meat are annually imported, he added, underlining that measures are underway to cut dependency on imports and boost production capacity.
To this end, 158 projects for expanding livestock and poultry breeding will be implemented by the Iranian yearend, which will also help create around 16,000 jobs.
Efforts will also be made to control the waste of feed in livestock breeding farms.
Massive Surplus
The excessive production of livestock over the past few months, combined with the significant decline in red meat consumption due to the coronavirus pandemic, has led to a massive surplus in the cattle farming sector, the head of Iran’s Livestock Exporters National Assembly said recently.
“Latest statistics show the domestic market normally needs around 60 million head of light livestock per year, but currently has 12 million more than the average,” Pourian was also quoted as saying by IRNA on Sunday.
This has put farmers under immense pressure, making them face a wide range of challenges, including excessive costs, shortage of feed and aging of cattle, he added.
The government banned the export of livestock in the last Iranian year to help increase supply in the domestic market. However, excessive imports amid the hike in domestic production as well as the huge fall in consumption created the current problem.
Calling on the government to lift the ban on exports, Pourian said “unconditional exports” will be critical to prevent any further losses.
In case the trend is not dealt with properly, Pourian said, thousands of farmers will become bankrupt and the country will face severe challenges in the red meat market next year.
Ahmad Moqaddasi, the head of Cattle Farmers Association, said in April that there is a surplus of 200,000 beef cattle ready to head for Iran's industrial-scale slaughterhouses, but the decline in consumption due to the pandemic has hampered the process.
The top 10 red meat producing provinces in Iran are Khorasan Razavi, Fars, East Azarbaijan, Mazandaran, West Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Khuzestan, Tehran, Ardabil and Hamedan.
Imports are made from the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as from Brazil and Australia.
There were 43 million sheep and lambs as well as 15.3 million goats and goat kids in Iran's livestock farms during the second quarter of the current fiscal year (June 21-Sept. 21), registering an increase of 0.3% in the number of former but a decline of 7% in the latter compared with the same period of last year.
A total of 1.4 million lambs and 453,000 goat kids were born during the second quarter, registering a 71.2% and 82% decline compared with the previous quarter.
Domestic livestock farms raised 3.9 million sheep and lambs, and 1.2 million goats and goat kids during the period, which indicates a 35.9% and 23.6% growth quarter-on-quarter.
Thanks to the seasonal increase in the number of cattle in spring and summer, the supply of lightweight livestock has increased by 50%, that of lamb by 35%, live calves by 40% and the supply of veal has grown by 25%.
