TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, the value of fishery products export from Mazandaran province, in the north of Iran, increased 176 percent in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Qasem Karimzadeh, the director-general of the province’s Fisheries Department, said that over 2,030 tons of fishery products worth $4.2 million were exported from the province in the five-month period, indicating also 56 percent rise in terms of weight.

He said that aquatic feed account for about 50 percent of the fishery products export from the province.

Most of the province's fishery products, which are fish feed, have been exported to various European and Asian countries, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Qatar, Russia, Iraq, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan, the official stated.

Referring to the activities of 51 units of fisheries industries in various sectors of canning, processing, fish meal, packaging and fish oil, he said six units of these industries and factories are active in the production of aquatic feed.

The head of Iran Fisheries Organization (IFO) Hossein Hosseini has said the country is aiming to increase the exports of fishery products to one billion dollars by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (begins on March 21, 2025).

Hosseini said the country's fishery production in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20) stood at 1,268,000 tons, and according to the IFO’s new reform plan, fishery production is set to increase to 2,600,000 tons by the year 1404.

According to the official, Iran exported 160,000 tons of fishery products worth $556 million last year.

MA/MA