Agriculture sector posts 5.6% growth, minister says
Iran’s Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Qezeljeh said the country’s agriculture sector grew by 5.6% in the first year of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration (began in last June), making it the only sector to meet the growth target set in the Seventh Development Plan.
Speaking on the occasion of Government Week, Nouri Qezeljeh told IRNA that, "The agriculture sector is the only field in the Seventh Development Plan that has achieved the expected growth of 5.5%." He said output growth had swung from a negative 0.2% last year to a positive 3.2% this year, resulting in "about 5.6% growth, which is 0.1% higher than the plan’s target."
The minister noted that production increases were recorded in several areas over the past year, including "23% in medicinal plants, 12% in cage fish farming, 27% in sturgeon production, 54% in tropical fruits, and growth in orchard products, 1% in chicken meat, 2% in red meat, 2% in eggs, and 5% in milk."
Sharp rise in exports
“Iran’s agriculture sector is the first field to achieve the targeted economic growth without relying on oil,” Nouri Qezeljeh said, citing a 32% increase in the value of agricultural exports.
"In addition to a 32% increase in the value of agricultural exports, there was a 6% decline in the value of agricultural imports during the period, which shows that growth has occurred and exports have significantly increased," the minister said.
According to him, the agricultural trade balance improved from a $11 billion deficit last year to a $8 billion deficit this year, reflecting a $3 billion positive development in the agriculture sector.
Nouri Qezeljeh called the rise in the value of agricultural exports "an important step in improving the country’s economic situation."
He added that the share of agriculture in the national economy had climbed from 6% to 7% despite "constraints and limitations in resources," underscoring its growing weight as "the first non-oil sector to reach the targeted economic growth."