Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19
Trend:
The head of Iran Veterinary Organization said Tehran and Wellington have agreed to boost their cooperation in the field of veterinary health and medicine.
After a recent meeting with the ambassador of New Zealand to Tehran, Alireza Rafiee-Pour said the two sides discussed ways to improves ties in the sector of veterinary science and animal husbandry, particularly veterinary health, the official website of Iran’s Agriculture Ministry said on September 19.
“World Organization for Animal Health has tasked Iran with uprooting Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and we plan to take major steps and increase our cooperation to that end,” he said.
PPR is a contagious transboundary disease which has severe negative socio-economic impacts on the income of livestock farmers and, in particular, the livelihoods and food security of the most vulnerable rural communities, notably of women.
Rafiee-Pour said, “During the meeting, Iran Veterinary Organization called on New Zealand’s envoy to pave the ways for enhanced ties between the two nations in the field of animal husbandry”.
Iran was once an important market for NZ sheepmeat, featuring in the top five destinations for the country’s red meat exports in the 1980s when it took about a quarter of the total lamb meat.
The meat industry welcomed the resumption of trade last year after a market access protocol between New Zealand and Iran was concluded.
This year to date, New Zealand exported over $1.1 million worth of lamb meat to Iran.
