TEHRAN – Iran exported 61,000 tons of fishery products worth $131 million in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22), data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) showed.

Based on the IRICA data, the Islamic Republic has exported 319,000 tons of fishery products worth $628 million to different countries over the past 2.5 years, which indicates the high capacity of the country in the field of exporting fisheries and aquatic products, Mehr News Agency reported.

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

According to the head of the Iran Fisheries Organization (IFO), the country exported $600 million worth of fishery products in the previous Iranian calendar year 1401.

Announcing a positive balance of $520 million in the previous year, Hossein Hosseini said that there is a capacity of up to $2 billion in exports for the country's fishery industry.

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 the fishing and aquaculture industry 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, the value of fishery exports also increased by 67 percent in the Iranian calendar year 1400 compared to the preceding 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.

EF/MA