TEHRAN – Some 270 national projects have been developed to improve the quality of food and agricultural products with the help of biotechnology in the country, in addition to reducing production costs.

The processing of food and agricultural products is done in different ways and the use of biotechnologies is flourishing worldwide.

The projects focus on the production of edible oils, fermented beverages, grain and dairy processing, as well as the use of biocatalysts in the production of bread and dairy and non-dairy beverages and packaging agricultural and food products with an export approach, IRNA reported.

The full implementation of these plans will create sustainable employment for 2,400 people in the country. Also, the development of bioprocessing in food production and agriculture, in addition to improving product characteristics and reducing production costs, is also an effective way to ensure the health of food products.

Biotechnology development

Biotechnology today is widespread in all fields and is no longer limited to biomedical drugs so it has replaced the injured limbs.

The plans will create sustainable employment for 2,400 people. Nearly 800 knowledge-based companies in the country are currently operating in the field of biotechnology and supplying their products and services to the domestic market.

In May 2021, the Biotechnology Development Council launched 129 production projects with the aim of saving up to $1.44 billion of foreign currency.

Iran is ranked 12th in the world and first in West Asia in terms of biotechnology, as 9.5 percent of the income of knowledge-based companies and more than 60 percent of their exports are related to biotechnology.

Foreign exchange savings of $1 billion per year by producing 22 biopharmaceuticals, gaining the first rank in biotechnology products and vaccines in West Asia, and the presence among the top five biotechnology producers in Asia are among the country’s achievements, Mostafa Ghanei, secretary of the biotechnology development office of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, said in October 2020.

So far, 27 biotechnology medicines, 12 vaccine projects, 90 pharmaceutical raw materials, and 55 projects in agriculture and food security have been implemented in order to gain a 3 percent market share and biotechnology assistance to the development of the economy, he explained.

Some 8 major companies are responsible for managing the country's 117 priority products in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical raw materials, vaccines, probiotics, equipment, and chemical drugs, he emphasized.

FB/MG