TEHRAN- Iran has exported 165 tons of canned fishes in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21), which was 10 percent lower than the figure for the same period of time in the past year, according to an official with Iran Fisheries Organization (IFO).

Isa Golshahi, IFO’s director-general for quality improvement, processing, and market development, had previously announced that Iran exported 6,210 tons of canned fish valued at $24 million in the past Iranian calendar year 1399 (ended on March 20).

He had said that the country’s canned fish export was 3,115 tons worth $15 million in year 1398.

Canned fish is exported from Iran, which can help factories, especially for those that use imported fish, the official said.

He said that Iran’s canned fish is mainly exported to Iraq, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Persian Gulf littoral states, and Armenia.

Golshahi has also announced that the country’s fishery export has increased nine percent during the first quarter of this year.

He said that over 28,000 tons of different types of fisheries worth over $52 million has been exported in the three-month period, indicating 12 percent growth in terms of weight as well.

In terms of accessing some new target markets in the field of fisheries, the official said that cooperation with the relevant organizations such as chambers of commerce, Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the non-governmental sector to open new markets in the international arena is one the agenda of the IFO’s plans.

Over the past two years, the efforts of the Aquatics’ Production and Trade Union of Iran, and the non-governmental sector have led to the addition of markets in countries such as Oman and Malaysia to Iran's target export markets in this field, he further noted.

Fishery production has increased noticeably in Iran in recent years.

Enjoying high quality, Iran’s fishery products were sold easily in the export markets, and also some new export destinations welcomed these products in the past two years; as new markets including China, South Korea, and the Eurasian Union nations opened up for Iranian fishery products.

As announced by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $10.7 billion in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year, up 69 percent compared to the last year’s same period.

According to Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi, Iran exported 30 million tons of non-oil commodities in the mentioned three months, registering a 38-percent rise compared to the figure for the last year’s Q1.

Iran's top five non-oil export destinations during this period were China with $3.1 billion worth of exports, Iraq with $2.3 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $1.3 billion, Turkey with $595 million, and Afghanistan with $570 million.

MA/MA