Financial Tribune

The Statistical Center of Iran's latest report shows beef accounted for 37,000 tons or 54.2% of the overall production, indicating a decrease of 31% year-on-year.

The production of lamb reached 25,100 tons (down 27% YOY), goat meat 4,700 tons (down 28% YOY) and meat of other types of livestock amounted to 1,500 tons during the three-month period, respectively accounting for 36.7%, 6.8% and 2.3% of the total output, SCI reported on its website.

Iranians consume around 920,000 tons of red meat per year, 90% of which are supplied domestically.

The top 10 red meat producing provinces in Iran are Khorasan Razavi, Fars, East Azarbaijan, Mazandaran, West Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Khuzestan, Tehran, Ardabil and Hamedan.

Imports are made from CIS countries as well as from Brazil and Australia.

Former deputy agriculture minister, Hassan Rokni, told Financial Tribune that Iran's red meat market is worth 248.793 trillion rials ($1.66 billion).

According to Karamali Qandali, the head of Nomadic Affairs Organization, Iranian nomads supply 25% of the country's demand for red meat.