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Iran meat output up by 44% y/y in July: SCI

Iran says red meat production increased by nearly a half year on year in July.

Iran’s production of red meat has increased by 44% percent in the Persian calendar month ending late July compared to the similar period in 2019.

A report by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) published Thursday showed that total meat output in the registered slaughterhouses across Iran had topped 36,200 metric tons between June 20 and July 21.

Beef accounted for 56.3 percent of the total production, said the SCI report, adding that lamb output had reached 12,400 tons, or 34.2 percent of the monthly production.

Total meat output had increased by 19 percent compared to the previous calendar month ending late June, said the report.

The figures prove earlier statement by government authorities that there is a major oversupply of red meat in Iran. That has prompted the government to cut imports while trafficking across the borders has also become a major issue.

Iran normally imports 50,000 tons, or nearly 7 percent of its annual demand for meat, from abroad. Production at abattoirs is believed to account for a half of total output of 850,000 a year.

The spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Iran, the country hardest hit by the disease in the region, has exacerbated the meat oversupply with authorities saying in early May that domestic consumption of red meat had fallen by nearly 60 percent because of the virus.

The pandemic has also caused an increase of more than 15 percent in the livestock population to a total of 75 million, according to latest figures by the SCI.


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