Iran exported 5.5 tons of caviar in the fiscal 2021-22, around 3.77 tons of which passed through the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration and the rest (around a third) was transported via suitcase trade by passengers, according to an official with Iran Fisheries Organization.
“We produced more than 10 tons of caviar last year and the figure is estimated to rise to 16 tons this year. We have also set the goal of increasing caviar production to 20 tons by the fiscal 2023-24,” Nasser Karami Rad was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
He noted that since sturgeon harvest from the Caspian Sea has been banned for more than a decade, the fish is produced in aquatic farms across the country.
“We export caviar to 35 countries, with the top three being Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. Each kilogram of Iranian farmed caviar is exported at €1,200 at present.”
Iran is the biggest producer of beluga caviar in the world, which consists of the roe (or eggs) of beluga sturgeon Huso huso. The fish is found primarily in the Caspian Sea. It can also be found in the Black Sea basin and occasionally in the Adriatic Sea.
Beluga caviar is the most expensive type of caviar.
The Beluga sturgeon is currently considered critically endangered.
Mazandaran and Gilan in the north of the country and Fars in the southwest top the list of Iran’s caviar producing provinces.
Presently, there are 177 active beluga sturgeon farms in 22 out of 31 provinces of Iran, 147 of which are producing on industrial scales with official permits and 30 are small and family-run farms, according to the official.
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.
