Iran's H1 Seafood Exports Up 30%

Iran exported seafood worth $110 million during the first six months of the current fiscal year (started March 20), the head of Iran Fisheries Organization said. Hassan Salehi added that the figure indicates a 30% rise compared with the same period of last year.  “As one of the sub-sectors of agriculture, fishing industry continues to enjoy a healthy trade surplus. During the past years, our exports were double our imports,” he said. “Last year, seafood production stood at about 1 million tons, out of which 82,000 tons were exported. Fishing industry is expected to register a 100% growth by the yearend,” Eranico quoted Salehi as saying.  Abbas Matinfar, another official with the organization, said some 20,000 tons of fish will be produced via cage farming by the yearend.  Arash Nabizadeh, the managing director of Cold Water Fish Farmers Association, said Iran accounts for 16% of global production of trout.  “This year’s trout production is expected to reach 125,000 tons,” he added. Tehran signed an agreement with Moscow for the export of 500 tons of trout in September and the first 20-ton shipment of the fish was delivered to Russia, Young Journalists Club quoted Nabizadeh as saying.