Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran says the country's top caviar clients are France and Spain, while Russia is to join this list in 2015.
The deputy of Iran Fishery Organization Hossein Abdolhay told Mehr News Agency on May 15 that Iran exports caviar at about €1,700 per kilogram.
He said that currently Iran has a capacity of producing 2,000 metric tons of sturgeon fish as well as 30 metric tons of caviar per annum in Mazandaran province's fish framings.
However, Abdolhay said that during last year, Iran produced 1000 metric tons of sturgeon fish and exported 1.5 metric tons of farmed caviar.
According to him, currently 40 fish farms breeding sturgeon fish are active in the country and Iran has plans to produce 10,000 metric tons of sturgeon fish as well as 100 metric tons of caviar per annum in coming years.
He added that Iran currently produces 370,000 metric tons of various aquatics annually.
Hassan Salehi, the head of Iran 's Fishery Organization announced late April that about 600 metric tons of sturgeon fish and 1,200 kilograms of caviar were produced in the country during the last year, adding that about one metric ton of caviar was exported.
In July, heads of fishery organizations of Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan will meet in Russia to discuss the ban on sturgeon fishes hunting.
The Caspian littoral states agreed in Baku in 2010 to ban hunting sturgeon fish for five years and the agreement will be likely extended for other five years.
Edited by CN