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Iran lowering its dependence on oil exports by increasing sales of black caviar

Currently, revenues from hydrocarbon exports account for about 80% of the total export earnings

© ITAR-TASS Archive/Dmitry Rogulin

TEHRAN, February, 17. /TASS/. Iran is going to decrease the dependence of the budget on oil exports due to higher sales of black caviar. According to the IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency), the head of the Iran's International Sturgeon Research Institute Mahmoud Bahmani has reported that the long-term plan of the state development sets the goal to replace 12.6% of income from oil exports by black caviar sales in 20 years.

Currently, these revenues account for about 80% of all export earnings.

Bahmani has claimed in his interview to the IRNA that Iran is going to increase the production of sturgeon from 10 to 20 thousand tons a year and of black caviar — from 3 to 100 tons a year. These plans are part of the national policy aimed at the creation of externally sustainable economy and decreasing dependence on raw hydrocarbons exports.

The main emphasis in Iran’s internal economic policy is put on fish-rearing and the increase of this industry’s effectiveness: to receive 24-25 kilos of black caviar instead of 8-15 kilos of it from one resource.

The Iran's International Sturgeon Research Institute was founded in Rasht (Gilan Province) in 1994 with the aim to protect sturgeon population and to assure careful usage of the fish in the Caspian Sea and development of the fish-rearing technology.

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