Agriculture minister says Iran will now export chicken meat, with chicken selling below its equilibrium price

Iran's agriculture minister announced on Thursday, 30 July 2026, on the sidelines of the opening of the second specialized livestock, poultry and dairy exhibition, that Iran will from now on be an exporter of chicken meat, and said chicken is currently being supplied to the market below its equilibrium price.

Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh said the country once imported live animals by air but has now reached the stage of exporting livestock embryos, and that dairy exports began some years ago. He added that the livestock and poultry sector has shown high productive capacity and that in recent months, despite constraints caused by the war and by drought, the country's essential goods were supplied without disruption.

On pricing, the minister said meat production must be economically viable for farmers, and that when a product is supplied at or below its equilibrium price, pushing the price down further can make it difficult to sustain production. On completing the production and value chain, he said the main approach is to hand matters to producer associations, and that the ministry is working to place the entire production, supply and market chain in their hands.