New Zealand to Export “Safe” Sheepmeat to Iran Soon: Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – New Zealand’s Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said New Zealand meat exporters will deliver “safe” sheepmeat to Iran in the near future.
New Zealand meat exporters could be landing sheepmeat into Iran later this year as efforts are made to revive a trade which was at its height during the boom years of the 1980s, he said.
"Iran was a very important market for New Zealand in the 1980s. We were selling a quarter of our sheepmeat there before red tape and bureaucracy put a halt to the trade in the 1990s," Guy told a seminar of the Central Districts Field Days in Feilding on Thursday, NZFarmer website reported.
He added, "Kebabs are part of the staple diet and they want food that is safe from countries like New Zealand”.
The official recently returned from a visit to Iran where he had signed a veterinary agreement that would pave the way for exports.
During his visit, the minister held talks with Iranian Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati and inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Republic paving the way for resumption of meat exports to the second-biggest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.
