Baku, Azerbaijan, June 4
Trend:
Iran’s red meat import hiked in the first month of the current fiscal year, experiencing an unprecedented increase of 1,607 percent in terms of value, year-on-year.
Iran imported 11,340 tons of red meat, worth $56.5 million, in the one-month period from March 20 to April 20, ISNA news agency reported June 4 citing official statistics.
The weight of the imported red meat was 1,266 percent more compared to the one-month period of the preceding year.
Iran imported 149,150 tons of red meat in the last fiscal year (ended March 20), 55.66 percent more, according to the agriculture ministry.
The value of the imported meat registered a rise by 77.41 percent to $691 million in the 12-month period.
Earlier on May 26, the Iranian deputy agriculture minister for livestock affairs, Morteza Rezaei, said the Agriculture Ministry has banned livestock exports in a bid to balance the red meat market.
The restrictions came into force after livestock prices in the domestic market experienced a rise.
In the meantime, Asghar Maleki, the head of Tehran Guild Union for Lamb Meat Supply and Distribution, told Trend that the ban will not be lifted until the price in the domestic market returns to the balance line.
Iranian officials say the country’s annual agricultural output stands at 120 million tons, worth at $80 million. The figure includes 82 million tons of crops, 20 million tons of horticulture products, 14 million tons of livestock, and over one million tons of fishery products.