BRUSSELS -- Iranian seafood companies participating in the European seafood exposition in Brussels complained the poor marketing and lack of advanced technology which are hampering the Iranian seafood industry from getting a wider foothold on the international market.

They added that an over production of shrimps in the world and the global economic recession after the 11 September events have created problems for Iranian shrimp exports.

In this regard Mohammad Qudsi, representative of the Union of Shrimps Breeding farmers in Bushehr, said their farms produce about 3,300 metric tons of shrimps yearly.

He added that Iranian shrimp exporters were facing strong competition by countries like China, Bangladesh, India and Thailand.

He said these countries were exporting at a cheaper price because workers' wages in Iran were relatively higher than in those countries.

Qudsi said another reason is that in Iran there is only one cultivation of shrimps per year whereas in countries like Thailand there were three cultivations per year because of advance seafood technology.