GORGAN, Golestan Province Managing Director of Golestan Province Veterinary Organization Hossein Zahtab said here Wednesday that over 9,136kg of caviar were exported to the European Union the current Iranian year (started March 21).

He told IRNA that 17,930kg of sturgeon meat which conformed to the union's health and quality standards were exported to EU in the period.

In May, the Public Relations Department at the Export Promotion Center of Iran announced that some 71.5 tons of caviar, worth $34.4 million, were exported last year. This shows an increase of 17 percent in terms of value and decrease of 15.7 percent in terms of weight compared to the figures for the preceding year, it added.

It further said the limitations on sturgeon fishing on genetic and environmental grounds and the 90-ton export quota reserved for Iran in 2000 were among the reasons for the decrease in caviar supply to world markets.

The European Union (EU) with 120 tons, the U.S. with 99 tons and Japan with 35 tons of annual imports are major world markets for caviar.

Iran, a major producer and exporter of caviar, has a production and export capacity exceeding 200 tons per annum.

The Caspian Sea is home for 60 percent of the world's sturgeons.