Tehran, Iran, Feb. 27
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad – Trend:
Iran has rejected a proposal on increasing the import tariff on soybean meal, which is the feed of livestock and poultry.
The secretary of national association for the producers of chicken, Ali Saberi, has told Trend that the price of soybean meal has already increased and a rise in price would cause a further price surge.
According to Saberi, Iran imports 3.5 million tons of soybean meal on a yearly basis.
He further touched upon the bird flu crisis in the country and said the illness has killed a large number of poultry in the country causing a shortage in eggs in the market.
According to the official, the shortage in eggs has been covered through imports.
Iranian officials earlier announced that they had culled 25 million heads of poultry following the recent appearance of fresh bird flu cases.
Naser Nabipour, head of the Tehran Chicken and Egg Association, said a whopping 40 percent of the nation’s poultry had been slaughtered due to bird flu fears.