Surplus chicken output to be exported

Iran’s acting Agriculture Minister Mohammad Aghamiri said
the government has plans underway to increase production of poultry meat to
secure domestic supplies and rein in rising food prices.

“We will boost our chicken output
and export the oversupply,” Aghamiri said last week.

He said that we should first meet the domestic demand,
noting that creation of value chain in poultry industry is of prime importance
in controlling prices.

A total of 186,205 tons of poultry meat were produced in
Iran’s official slaughterhouses during the first month of the current Iranian
year (March 21-April 20), registering a 10% decrease compared with last year’s
corresponding period and a 4% decline compared with the previous month.

According to the Statistical Center of Iran, chicken
accounted for 180,126 tons, or 96.7% of the total poultry production.

The poultry industry is one of the most important
sub-sectors of the agriculture economy in Iran whose output hit $10 billion
annually. The industry produces about 2.65 million tons of chicken meat worth
$6 billion per year, which ranks first among the top 20 products of Iran’s
agriculture sector.