Tehran, Iran, June 10
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
Iranian aquafarms in the northern province of Mazandaran exported 37 kilograms of natural caviar in the first two months of the current Iranian fiscal year (started March 21), Iran Veterinary Organization reported.
So far, 37 kilograms of fish eggs, as caviar is, have been shipped out of Mazandaran province to European nations after obtaining license from relevant authorities, according to the portal of Iran Veterinary Organization on June 9.
Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium have been the main export destinations for Iran’s gold black, the report added.
Once among Iran's most famous exports, the industry nearly collapsed due to trade restrictions and an international clampdown on sturgeon fishing from the Caspian Sea. The long, prehistoric fish, whose glittery, bead-like eggs make the choicest caviar, had almost been driven to extinction by overfishing.
Now, dozens of Iranian producers are raising sturgeon legally on fish farms as the 2015 nuclear agreement Iran signed with six world powers has slowly reopened foreign markets to Iranian products.
After the United States lifted an embargo on Iranian goods in January 2016, the first shipment of Iranian caviar in nearly a decade reached the US last year: A modest 18 pounds of the prized beluga variety, some of which ended up for sale at stores frequented by Iranian expatriates in Los Angeles and other cities.
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