BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. The volume of shrimp harvested in Iran’s Khuzestan Province, located in the southwest of the country, rose by 32 percent in the current season (April 21 through October 22, 2023), compared to the previous season, said Morteza Souri, director general of the Khuzestan Province Fisheries Department, Trend reports.
According to Souri, over 1,700 tons of shrimp were harvested from farms covering 604 hectares of land.
The director general attributed the progress in shrimp farming to the involvement of the private sector. He also revealed a plan to expand the shrimp farming area in Khuzestan and reach a target of more than 5,000 tons of shrimp by 2025.
Souri added that most of the shrimp grown in Khuzestan were exported to Asian, Arab, and European markets.
Reportedly, shrimp production in the country is expected to drop by 30 percent this year, reaching 40,000 tons due to a bacterial infection (AHPND) that affected some of the shrimp farms in the country.
Overall, Iran has shrimp farms covering 16,000–17,000 hectares of land.
On average, Iran produces 60,000 tons of shrimp per year, of which about 60 percent is exported and 40 percent is consumed domestically. The main provinces for shrimp farming and fishing are Khuzestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, and Golestan.
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