Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 18
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran provides only 12-13 percent of the meat needed via imports, Masoud Basiri, head of the Main Directorate for Market and Strategic Reserves Management of the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, told in a statement for the ministry's website, Trend reports.
According to Basiri, the annual domestic demand for red meat in Iran makes up about 960,000 tons.
Basiri added that Iran imported 133,000 tons of red meat from March 21, 2018 to February 1, 2019.
"In past years, Iran has covered 140,000-160,000 tons of the domestic demand for red meat via imports," he said.
Stating that red meat (considering that $1 equals to 42,000 rials) was imported with foreign currency, Basiri said that the rising demand of consumers for the said product is causing the price difference between imported and domestically produced red meat.
According to the ministry official, who considers smuggling one of the factors affecting the rise in the price of red meat in Iran, demand for live animals has increased with the rise in foreign currency prices.
"Given the increase in foreign currency prices, those engaged in animal husbandry are interested in selling goats in cash this year (started March 21, 2018)," he said.
Considering this, Basiri named fighting smuggling as a way of impeding the rise of prices for red meat.
Nasiri also highlighted products leaving the country as another reason for the rising red meat prices, saying that citizens of neighboring countries enter Iranian border towns as tourists or for a single day.
“Because of the difference between the currencies of Iran and its neighbors, citizens of the neighboring countries obtain food products in Iran. This leads to the national products leaving the country,” he said.
Basiri noted that cases of product smuggling and of foreign nationals taking Iranian products out of the country should not be allowed.