Sistan and Baluchestan: Iran’s red meat production hub

An official with Agriculture Ministry announced that the
southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan is Iran’s biggest red meat
production hub.

“Sistan and Baluchestan has 11
industrial slaughterhouses with a daily capacity of 4,300 heads,” Hossein Damavandi-Nejad,
the deputy minister for livestock products, said on Sunday.

The ministry is seeking to fully tap into the potential of
the province to increase the number of production units operating in the
province.

As previously reported, the production of red meat in Iran
stood at 43,775 tons in the second month of the current Iranian calendar year
(April 21-May 21), showing 11 percent fall compared to the same month in the
past year.

As reported, beef and veal had the lion’s share in the
country’s red meat output during the second month with 23,281 tons, followed by
lamb and mutton with 17,057 tons, goat meat with 2,592 tons, and red meat from
other livestock with 845 tons.

Iran is among the leading consumers of red meat in the West
Asia region with lamb being the most sought after.

However, the consumption per person is around a third of
what is normally seen in countries like the US and Australia, mainly due to the
prohibition of pork in Islamic law.

The major part of Iran’s red meat imports comes from
countries like Brazil, where Iranian supervisors directly control culling
methods to ensure they comply with religious rules.