TEHRAN – Iran is expected to export over 1 million tons of dairy products by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20), according to the deputy agriculture minister.

Regulating the market and meeting the domestic needs is one of the agriculture ministry’s top priority and exports are only pursued if the domestic needs are met, Morteza Rezaie said.

According to the official, necessary measures should be taken so that exports of such products would not lead to a rise in prices inside the country.

The official noted that currently, the country has an ideal and favorable condition in all fields of production and supply of livestock products such as milk, poultry, eggs, and red meat.

Poultry production increased by more than 11 percent over the past year, he said.

In late December 2019, the secretary of Iran Dairy Industries Union said over $700 million worth of dairy products are exported from Iran annually. 

Iran is among the top milk-producing countries in the world.

“Close to 7 million tons of milk is produced in the country annually, 450,000 tons of which are exported as dairy products,” Reza Bakeri said.

The official noted that Iran’s main dairy importers are Iraq, Afghanistan, and Russia, adding that Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Japan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia are other export destinations.

EF/