The government plans to import a total of 50,000 tons of chicken, says the director general of the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade’s Commercial Affairs Bureau.
“Domestic consumption of chicken stands at between 6,000 and 7,000 tons per day, and when there is a shortage in the local market, the government taps into the country’s strategic reserves, which stands at around 30,000 tons. This year, imports will take place from Turkey and Brazil to meet the domestic market demand,” Sodayf Beykzadeh was quoted as saying by ILNA.
It was ratified during the Cabinet meeting on March 14 that these consignments be imported at the subsidized rate of 42,000 rials per dollar by State Livestock Affairs Logistics Inc.
Agriculture Minister Kazem Khavazi said during a market regulation meeting on Tuesday that all chicken farms have been obliged to supply their 45-day old chicken to slaughterhouses and these farms will be penalized if they violate the new measure.
Earlier, the director general of Exports Department of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration communicated a ban on chicken exports to customs offices across the country.
As per Ali Akbar Shademani’s directive, chicken exports have been banned starting March 10th and will continue until further notice.
The measure has been taken following the shortage of chicken meat in the country, IRNA reported.
Habib Asadollahnejad, the deputy head of Iran Chicken Farmers Union, said, “To our knowledge, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade had ratified the ban on chicken exports nearly five months ago in October, yet officials of the related body have only communicated the directive to IRICA a few days ago.”
This means, the official told ILNA, exports of the product has been carried all the while, despite turmoil and soaring prices in the domestic market.
“One reason may be that the price of each kilogram of chicken in the neighboring markets is at $1.5, which is a lot more than prices in the local market. This has tempted intermediaries and smugglers to buy chicken produced with subsidized poultry feed and sell them illegally to regional and neighboring countries,” Asadollahnejad said.
Abbas Tabesh, the head of Iran Consumer and Producer Protection Organization, said there is surplus chicken meat production in all Iranian provinces, which means the government has to take extreme measures against middlemen and smugglers who cause disruptions in the domestic market.
Official statistics show Iran exported 7,000 tons of chicken worth over $13.28 million during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (March 20-June 20, 2020).
The three top destinations of Iran’s chicken meat during the three-month period were Afghanistan with 4,116 tons worth $8.19 million, Iraq with 2,523 tons worth $3.6 million and Venezuela with 264 tons worth $585,205, Rouhollah Latifi, spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
According to Gholamreza Maleknia, an Agriculture Ministry official, Iran produces 2.5 million tons of chicken annually.
Between 120 million and 130 million chickens are produced per month.
Iran’s per capita consumption of chicken meat hovers around 32 kilograms.
