TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s fishery export stood at $600 million in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20), the head of Iran Fisheries Organization (IFO) Hossein Hosseini announced.

By announcing that last year the fishing industry brought $600 million income for the country, with a positive balance of $520 million, the official said that there is a capacity of up to $2 billion export in the country's fishery industry.

Iran's aquaculture industry is on the wave of progress and has world ranks in the production of some fishery products.

It is worth mentioning that the growth and development of Iran’s aquaculture industry has reached the point where the country has become a model for the countries of the region and the world.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) believes that Iran plays a responsible and central role in fishing and aquaculture in the region, and for this reason, it can be considered a model for the countries of the region.

Now the world markets have become the target of the export of the country's fishery products, so that head of Iran Fisheries Organization has announced that the value of fishery exports was more than $500 million in the Iranian calendar year 1400, with 67 percent growth year on year.

In addition to the executive role of the IFO, the role of research and knowledge-based activities in this field is very important, and the entry of young specialists and knowledge-based experts in various sectors of the fishery industry has made the sanctions ineffective.

“In the past, our [fish farming] cages were all imported. Now, with knowledge-based companies, 85 percent of cage equipment is produced inside the country and we are self-sufficient in preparing 98 percent of shrimp food”, the IFO head has stated.

“Meanwhile, we have been able to achieve global rankings for the country in the production of some fishery products, and we rank second in total fishery output in West Asia”, the official further highlighted.

Last November, Iran launched the country’s first fishery industries park, in which every year 1,000 tons of shrimp is produced.

Over the past four years, the efforts of the Aquatics Production and Trade Union of Iran, and the non-governmental sector have led to the addition of markets in countries such as Oman and Malaysia to Iran's target export markets in the field of fishery.

Enjoying high quality, Iran’s fishery products were sold easily in the export markets, and also some new export destinations welcomed these products in the past four years; as new markets including China, South Korea, and the Eurasian Union nations opened up for Iranian fishery products.

MA