More than 1.3 tons of caviar worth $539,000 were exported to 23 countries during the first half of the current Iranian year (started March 21), indicating a 110% and 50% increase in weight and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to Arezou Ghaniyun, an official with the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, the UAE was the main customer of Iran’s caviar during the period, accounting for about a third of total exports (in weight and value).
“The second largest importer of Iranian caviar was the UK; it accounted for 17% (in weight) of total exports. Portugal, Kuwait and Japan each accounted for 6% of Iran’s caviar in H1. A total of 466 kilograms of caviar worth $202,000 were exported to the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Greece and Portugal, suggesting that 37% of Iran’s exports of caviar were sold to European countries,” she was quoted as saying by IRIB News.
Of the 12 tons of caviar produced in Iran in the year ending March 2021, 4.5 tons worth more than $6 million were exported, according to Isa Golshahi, an official with Iran Fisheries Organization.
“In addition, 3,500 tons of sturgeon meat were produced in Iran last year, of which 1,000 tons worth $10 million were exported,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Forty-five percent of Iran’s caviar output are exported and 55% are used locally in both nutritional food and cosmetics product, he added.
The official noted that 60-65% of Iran’s caviar are purchased by the European market, adding that Russia is one of the biggest customers of Iran’s sturgeon meat.
“Iran’s caviar and sturgeons are also exported to Persian Gulf littoral states, including the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, as well as Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Malaysia, China and Japan,” he said.
Caspian Sea, in northern Iran, is the world’s primary and largest habitat of the beluga, the most famous sturgeon species, as well as four other sturgeon species.
However, the deteriorating condition of Caspian Sea has long been threatening this fish with extinction. The declining sturgeon population and the ban on their fishing have caused a downtrend in Iran’s caviar exports.
Studies show that most of the world’s sturgeon spawn in the rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea. Iran has some of the harshest laws on poaching the fish while authorities have sought to persuade other countries in the region to implement similar regulations to protect the fish.
The long, prehistoric fish, whose glittery, bead-like eggs make the choicest caviar, had been driven nearly to extinction by overfishing.
Now, dozens of Iranian producers are raising sturgeons legally on fish farms.
“In their latest meeting, the Caspian littoral states have decided to extend the ban on fishing sturgeons for commercial purposes until the end of 2021. The decision was made to protect the rare Caspian aquatic creature. We hope to see the ban extended for years to come,” he said.
The ban has been in place since 2011.
