Iran exported 114,000 tons of seafood worth $400 million in the 10-month period to Jan. 19, indicating a 4% rise in weight and a 6% increase in value compared with the same period of the year before, says Isa Golshahi, an official with Iran Fisheries Organization.
“With the opening of two dried fish and small dried fish producing plants this year [started March 2020], another item was added to the country’s export basket. A total of 18,000 tons of dried fish worth $18 million were exported over the period. Oman, Myanmar and Malaysia are new export destinations of Iranian seafood this year,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Exports of non-halal fish, including cutlass fish, squid and catfish, hit 29,000 tons worth $73 million in the 10-month period and exports of farmed shrimp reached 14,500 tons.
Production and consumption of seafood have increased 13-fold or 1,330% over the past 40 years.
Golshahi noted that a total of 1.28 million tons of fisheries were produced in Iran last fiscal year (March 2019-20), registering a $440 million in trade surplus.
Iran is a major seafood producer in the region with trout, caviar and shrimp currently being the main exported products of the fisheries sector.
A total of 146,000 tons of seafood worth $539 million were exported from Iran last year, according to the head of Iran Fisheries Organization.
The figures show a respective rise of 1.41% and 2.06% in tonnage and value compared with 143,970 tons of exports worth $528 million of the year before.
“Imports of seafood over the same period stood at around 29,000 tons worth $98.9 million,” Nabiollah Khounmirzaei has been quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Imports increased by 41.28% in value compared with the figure for the fiscal 2018-19.
According to the official, shrimp production will reach 52,000 tons by the end of the current Iranian year on March 20.
“A total of 126 farms are dedicated to sturgeon production across 21 provinces, which are estimated to produce 3,600 tons. Fish farming in cages will also yield a total of 15,000 tons by the [fiscal] yearend [March 20],” he said.
He noted that Iran Fisheries Organization has issued permits for tilapia farming in the provinces of Yazd, Qom, Semnan and South Khorasan, adding that the production of 5,000 tons of this fish species is predicted for the current Iranian year.
Khounmirzaei told IRNA that seafood production is estimated to stand at 1.5 million tons by the end of the current year to register a %15 rise compared with the previous year's output.
“Aquaculture is predicted to account for 800,000 tons of the total sum and the remaining 700,000 tons will be harvested from water bodies. This means that for the first time, our production from seafood farms will surpass our fishing yield,” he said.
“Iran’s seafood sector has created a total of 233,059 direct and indirect jobs.”
Over the past few years, Iran has set up fish farming cages in the sea as well as water bodies behind dams, and is expanding the business as part of its plans to increase seafood production.
Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province in southwest Iran accounts for 40% of Iran's seafood production. The province has the capacity to produce 240,000 tons of seafood per year.
Middle East's biggest seafood production units is active in the industrial city of Shahr-e Kord.
Located 97 km from the central Iranian province of Isfahan, Shahr-e Kord is the first in Iran regarding its capacity to breed salmon.
Golshahi added that canned trout was marketed locally this year, which is currently produced by three factories in northern, western and central Iran.
Noting that per capita consumption of fisheries in Iran rose by 9.9% last year (March 2019-20) to stand at 13.3 kg, the official said, “Seafood intake should account for 30% of total consumption of animal protein; it now constitutes 17% of Iranians’ protein intake.”
Given the rise in production costs, price increases are inevitable. However, statistics show that the inflation of seafood group has been less than the average increase in the consumer price index of food group.
Latest data released by the Statistical Center of Iran show the average goods and services Consumer Price Index of “food and beverages” group in the 12-month period ending Jan. 19, which marks the end of the 10th Iranian month, increased by 30.8% compared with last year’s corresponding period.
With a coefficient of 26.64%, the CPI of “food and beverages” for all Iranian households stood at 358.3 in the month ending Jan. 19, indicating a 0.9% increase compared with the month before. The index registered a year-on-year increase of 60%.
According to SCI, the Consumer Price Index of fish and shellfish stood at 386.2 in the month ending Jan. 19, indicating a 4.1% rise compared with the month before.
The sub-index, which has minimum impact on total inflation rate of “food and beverages” group with a coefficient of 0.77%, registered a year-on-year increase of 56.5%. The average annual CPI of the sub-group grew by 25.6% compared with the corresponding period of the year before.
