Iran's canned food syndicate head says canned fish output will fall 10 to 20 percent this year

Masoud Bakhtiari, head of Iran's canned food industry syndicate, said in remarks published on Tuesday 4 August 2026 that between 300 million and 350 million cans of fish were produced in the country last year, but output is forecast to fall by 10 to 20 percent this year.

He pointed to a slump in the market and a sharp fall in household purchasing power as the main causes, saying the government's food voucher scheme only had a positive effect in its first month. War conditions and power cuts to industry have created difficult circumstances, he said, and imports of raw materials have fallen significantly from last year. Bakhtiari added that the Fisheries Organisation allowed some fishing vessels to operate during the closed season for the first time, which partly preserved the domestic fish supply.

Producers are caught between rising input costs that force them to raise prices and weaker household purchasing power that turns any price increase into lower sales, he said. He called on the government to take measures to lift the sector out of recession, including increasing the value of the food voucher.