The negative trade balance in the agricultural sector narrowed to less than $3.5 billion in the last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2016) from $5.6 billion and $8 billion in the years ending March 2015 and March 2014 respectively, the agriculture minister said.
Mahmoud Hojjati also attributed the more balanced trade to the global decline in the prices of certain agricultural products, as much as to an increase in Iran’s export of high added value products, Mehr News Agency reported.
“Last year some 600,000 tons of milk, 100,000 tons of eggs, 70,000 tons of chicken and 200,000 head of livestock were exported. A considerable amount of sugar was produced and if the number of sugar processing factories was not limited, we could have met all the domestic need for the product and become self-sufficient,” he said.
Hojjati added that there is no need to import wheat in the new Iranian year (started March 20).
