TVNZ - The first shipment of New Zealand meat to Iran in more than a decade will be sent later this month.


Wellington company Taylor Preston will send the shipment after Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy oversaw an agreement to allow frozen sheep and beef exports to resume.




Iran has the second-largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.




The nation is heavily reliant on food imports and took one-quarter of New Zealand's sheep exports in the 1980s.




In February, New Zealand lifted sanctions against Iran after it agreed to roll back its nuclear ambitions.




"Over time this could become a significant market for particularly lamb, but in the future it could be beef as well," Mr Guy said today.




"It's been a tough year for sheep farmers so these significant market access opportunities will be warmly received."




A six-month trial to send chilled meats to China is also about to get underway.