More than 88,000 tons of seafood worth $172 million were exported from Iran during the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Oct. 22), registering a 15% and 60% rise in tonnage and value respectively compared with the similar period of last year, according to the head of Iran’s Seafood Producers and Exporters Union.
“So far this year, we have exported seafood to 57 countries,” Ali Akbar Khodaei was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
According to the official, Iran’s seafood industry has created about 260,000 direct jobs.
“About 50% of the jobs in processing firms, conserve industries, research and development departments and education centers are held by women,” he said.
He noted that Iran’s per capita seafood consumption currently stands at 10-11 kilograms per year, which is almost half the global average of 20 kg.
More than 166,000 tons of seafood worth $554 million were exported from Iran in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), registering a 19% and 14% rise in weight and value respectively compared with the year before, according to the head of Iran Fisheries Organization.
“Around 700,000 tons of seafood were harvested from the sea during the period and more than 610,000 tons were farmed in aquaculture firms across the country,” Hossein Hosseini was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Major Sturgeon Caviar Exporter
The production of sturgeon meat stood at 3,500 tons and caviar at 16 tons last year, Hosseini said.
Iran is the biggest producer of beluga caviar in the world. Beluga caviar is caviar consisting of the roe (or eggs) of the 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 to be critically endangered.
“A total of 5.77 tons of caviar were exported from Iran to 33 countries in the last Iranian year, registering a 65% increase compared with the year before,” an official with Iran Fisheries Organization said, citing figures released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
“More than 3.77 tons of the total sum were shipped from the country’s customs terminals and the remaining 2 tons were exported as suitcase trade,” Nasser Karami-Rad was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
Each kilogram of exported caviar is priced between €1,000 and €1,300, the official said, adding that when reaching the end consumers, prices increase to €3,000 to €4,000.
Mazandaran and Gilan in northern Iran and Fars in the southwest, he added, topped the list of caviar producing provinces.
“Presently, there are 177 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,” he said.
According to Isa Golshahi, another official with Iran Fisheries Organization, the lion’s share of Iran’s caviar is purchased by the European market while 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.
Caspian Sea, in the north of 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.
The Caspian littoral states have banned fishing sturgeons for commercial purposes since 2011.
The head of Iran Fisheries Organization added that around 291 million ornamental fish are produced in Iran every year with an annual turnover of around 60 trillion rials ($160 million).
Sharp Rise in Shrimp Exports to China
A total of 17,325 tons of shrimp were exported from Iran to China during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Oct. 22), registering a 360% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year when it stood at 4,790 tons, says Abbas Mokhtari, an official with the Agriculture Ministry.
He added that shrimp exports to Russia registered a 5% rise to stand at 1,205 tons during the period from 1,145 tons in last year’s corresponding period, IRNA reported.
Data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show a total of 36,300 tons of shrimp were exported from Iran to 22 countries during the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), registering a record.
The volume of exports marked a 140% rise compared with the 10-year average (15,300 tons) and a 67% increase compared with the five-year average (21,750 tons), seairan.com reported.
Aquatics Production and Trade Union of Iran wrote on its website that 95% of last year’s overall exports were farmed shrimp.
Iran’s main export destinations during the period under review were China with 14,200 tons, the UAE with 11,200 tons and the Russian Federation with 4,150 tons. Other traditional customers of Iranian shrimp are Turkey, Iraq, Spain and France.
The southern Bushehr Province is Iran’s main farmed shrimp production region. Hormozgan, also in southern Iran, is another major producer.
