TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Deputy Minister of Agricultural and head of Iran Fisheries Organization Hassan Salehi has said Iran ranked first in the world in production of trout and sturgeon.
"Over the previous Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), Iran took a major step in the fisheries sector by realizing a production of nearly 1.1 million tons of aquatic species," the official said.
Salehi reiterated that of the overall output, 54 percent pertained to fishing in the sea and mainly free waters while the remaining 46 percent resulted from farming fishery products given the country the top position in this regard.
He said that the country gained a good position in the industry last year with exports of 120,000 tons of fishery products and revenue of $412 million.
"Over 400 processing centers are currently active in various fishery sectors like canning, powder production and packaging giving way to creation of 220,000 direct jobs," Salehi added.
He underlined that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) had played an important role in the Iranian fishery industry, and said, "Russia restricted imports from Europe and the U.S. in retaliation for their sanctions creating an invaluable market for Iranian products.”
The official reiterated that Iran still needs to work on establishing proper infrastructure for meeting demands of foreign buyers like Russia, and said, "Today Russians are putting a demand for 100,000 tons of Iranian fishery products, shrimp in particular."
The official further underscored that Iran has a low per capita consumption of about 10 kilograms while the global average stands at 20kg; "in a bid to boost people's health, the current per capita needs to rise by producing processed products".