Deputy Minister: Iran’s Exports of Fishery Products Up 15% in 11 Months

The exports of fishery and aquatic products during the first 11 months of the previous Iranian year registered a 15% growth in weight, Hosseini said.

He added that in the same period, Iran exported over 5.1 million tons of fishery and aquatic products, valued at $620 million, showing a 15% and a 7.4% increase in weight and value, respectively, compared to the same period in the previous year.

Hosseini noted that the ministry has issued the operation license for farming fish at cage in the Northern and Southern waters of Iran.

He also referred to the key role of the private sector in the fishery industry last year, saying the private companies have fulfilled most of the objectives of the ministry in the field of fishery activities.

Relevant reports in March said that  cooperation agreement was signed between 12 companies and groups of stakeholders in the field of fish farming to create a value chain for caged fish farming in the Caspian Sea region in Northern Iran.

12 influential companies and groups with a long history in various sectors of the industry, including the production of hatched eggs, baby fish nursery as the primary production input, health, nutritional and executive management of fish farms in cages, fish farms on land, export and trading of products, fishing unions and feed production factories, have agreed to create a value chain with a production capacity of 1,500 tons of fish by using all the country's hardware and software technologies to accelerate the development of the cage fish farming industry in the Northern waters of Iran.

The most important projects identified for the creation of this chain value include the completion of the technological equipment of the caged fish farm, including imaging, farm management software, etc., completion of the equipment and the optimization of the intermediate farms, including the nano-bubble, ozone, and filtration systems, and creation of the production-line of value-added products from fish waste to supply the raw materials of aquatic feed, concentrate production project to increase the safety of farmed fish by using medicinal plants to reduce the consumption of antibiotics, completing and equipping the processing unit including IQF machine, automatic processing, etc.

Design and construction of support float for caged fish breeding farm, completion of surveillance system equipment for breeding and nursery unit, implementation of the project for selection and production of Iranian triploid eggs, creation of a specialized feed production line for fishmeal, and supply of specialized vehicle for transporting fish are other projects to be implemented by the companies.

4155/v