THERAN - Iran’s fishery chief says shrimp output in the country would further increase in the current calendar year ending March 2026 to top 50,000 metric tons.
Mehrdad Muhammadi Doost said on Sunday that shrimp farms in Iran have been expanded to cover 16,106 hectares of more lands and coasts, adding that output would increase by over 15 percent year on year if the production target is met in March.
The official added, the harvesting of shrimp from the farms has begun and will continue until early December.
He said: Hormozgan province, with 6,370 hectares of cultivated fields, has taken the first place in terms of the highest production this year, and the next places are Bushehr province with 4,988 hectares, Golestan province with 2,121 hectares, Sistan and Baluchestan province with 1,592 hectares, and Khuzestan province with 1,355 hectares.
Stating that the largest amount of shrimp production in the country is carried out every year in Hormozgan and Bushehr provinces, which are the main hubs of shrimp farming in the country, Muhammadi Doost stated: The majority of the farmed shrimp is exported to target markets, and a portion is distributed to domestic needs.
Shrimp production has increased steadily over the past years to turn Iran into the 10th leading producer in the world, according to figures by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.