Iran eyes fisheries export to eastern Europe

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (MNA) – Deputy agriculture minister has urged Iranian private sector and businessmen to make plans for exports of fishery products to Eastern Europe countries. Deputy Minister of Agricultural and Head of Iran Fisheries Organization Hassan Salehi said tourism is growing in Eastern Europe turning those countries into good markets for exports of Iranian fishery commodities; “per capita consumption of fish is very low in these countries which allows room for growth.” The official estimated the country’s fishery exports capacity at 100 thousand tons per year adding “plans have been made to produce more than 200 thousand tons of fish via cage culture system in order to supply a portion of the demand for the product in Eastern Europe.” He deemed Romania as a new market in Eastern Europe for Iranian exporters active in fisheries areas asserting “Iran could provide destinations countries with technical and engineering assistance.” “Romania hold experiences in cultivation of aquatic species such as sturgeon, trout and crap fish while Iran enjoys more advanced technologies in the field,” Salehi continued. Deputy agriculture minister further said “given the low fishery production capacity in Romani and Iran’s high level of production, fishery products like famed fish, shrimp and sturgeon meat can be shipped to the European state.”