Shrimp farming in Iran hit 1,282,457 tonnes that is a significant figure, he said in an interview with IRNA.
Iran ranks second in the world in terms of caviar production and third in terms of sturgeon farming, Khon Mirzaei added.
Our plan is to increase shrimp production in farms to 52,000 tons by the end of this Iranian calendar year (March 19th, 2020)”, added the head of Iran's Fisheries Organization in his interview.
Khon Mirzaei said that last year, some 360,000 tons of fish species and fishery products were exported the total worth of which amounted to around $538million.
According to the official, 29,000 tons of these products which worth around $98,9 million were imported.
He predicted that offshore fish farming will increase to 15,000 tons by year end.
Khon Mirzaei noted that earlier, Iran's place in caviar production was restricted to sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea.
According to government estimates, Iran exported some 22,000 tonnes of shrimp, worth of around $150 million, in the year ending March 2018.
Iran aims to meet a target of 60,000 tonnes of shrimp production by 2021 by expanding the farms in southern regions like Sistan and Balouchestan as well as those along the coast of the Caspian Sea.
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