TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) – Director of the Union of Shrimp Exporters, Arsalan Qasemi, announced here on Sunday that Expertise Commission of the Economy Council has ratified a bill to allocate export subsidy worth of Rls.5000 (some 65 U.S. cents) per kg to shrimp producers.

The bill, to be finally ratified by the General Committee of the Economy Council (the head of which is the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran), only allows shrimp producers to make use of the facilities, not exporters.

“When exporters want to buy their consignment of shrimp, they can determine a producer who can be granted the subsidy,” Qasemi said.

Nevertheless, according to Article five of the Third Economic Development Plan (2000-2005), such facilities have to be allotted to both producers and exporters of the shrimp. The official did not give any further about differences.

Although fisheries activities in Iran are conducted through an official agent called fisheries, which is an affiliated body to the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, Qasemi lambasted the two bodies for failing to support enough producers and exporters of shrimp.

“The Ministry of Commerce and Export Development Center have had more effective share in the promotion of the sector than fisheries and Ministry of Agricultural Jihad.

The Director of the Union put Iran’s production of shrimp March-on-March 21, 2003 at 6,000 tons, saying that the figure registers no change compared to the corresponding period the last year.

Marin Times Newspaper, however, reported that four thousand tons of shrimp, worth nearly $17 million were exported from Iran last year.

According to the report, the figures were produced before the end of the year, related to 4,000 tons of shrimp and the final total may be in excess of that. The report added that production rate shows an increase of approximately 60 percent in terms of weight and over 32 percent in value compared with the same period for the previous year.

In addition, another report said that in 2000, 7,800 tons of shrimp, worth $22.9 million, were exported, showing more than 120 percent and 114.4 percent growth in terms of weight and value, respectively, compared to the figures for the same period last year.

EU member states, United States, and China are the main purchasers of the Iranian delicious sea creatures. For the current Iranian calendar year of 1382 (ending March 20, 2004), it is estimated that some 90 percent of the total production of the shrimp to be sent oversees in two-kilogram boxes.

Shrimp farming in Iran started 8 years ago as this activity has been seen as a good way to develop unproductive salty coastal flats. The Iranian government has had long-termed program to promote the lucrative industry, which is 100 percent export oriented. In 2000, Thailand agreed to help Iran with high technology in shrimp farming. AF/IS END MNA