Over 600,000 tons of foods and drinks worth US$360 million have been exported in the current Iranian year (ends March 20, 2006), the figure indicating a 54-percent increase in terms of value compared to the corresponding figure released in the previous year.
According to Iran Daily, the Non-Ferrous Department of the Ministry of Industries and Mines said credit lines have been opened for some US$ 814 million worth of food industry projects in recent years.
It said some 245,000 people are employed in the country's food industries and that the sector accounts for 3.4 percent of non-oil exports and five percent of industrial and mining sector exports.
It further noted that local consumption of foods, drinks and cigarettes since January, 2006 has reached a total of US$ 30 billion as against the global figure of US$ 4.3 trillion.
Iran exports foodstuff and drinks mainly to Germany, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Britain, United States, Canada, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Italy.
The food and drink industries accounted for 18.8 percent of total industrial investments in Iran in the previous Iranian year.
