An oil tanker, Episkopi, is seen docked next to Iraq's vital al-Basra oil terminal, in Persian Gulf waters, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. Crude oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel Thursday, April 24, 2008, as the dollar gained strength against the euro. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)[/caption]TEHRAN: Director of Irans International Sturgeon Research Institute, Mahmoud Bahmani, said that Iran can earn 12.6 percent of its annual crude oil revenue from caviar exports.
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) quoted Bahmani as saying that volume of Irans annual farmed caviar output stands at 3 tons, which is planned to reach 100 tons by 2025.
Hassan Salehi, head of Iran Fisheries Organization said that the country produced about 1.5 tons of the fish in the past Iranian calendar year (March 2013-March 2014).
On January 7, Salehi said the value of Irans annual farmed caviar exports is planned to reach 120 billion rials (about $3.5 million) by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015).
The most expensive of all caviar, and indeed the worlds most expensive food is Almas, from the Iranian Beluga fish. One kilogram of this black gold is regularly sold for around $34,500. Almas is produced from the eggs of a rare sturgeon between 60-100 years old, which swims in the southern Caspian Sea where there is apparently less pollution.
Irans annual crude oil revenue stood at $34.52 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, according to the Iranian Oil Ministry.
By Customs Today
