Iran poultry and egg industry faces production crisis

The Iranian poultry and egg industry is experiencing a significant production decline and rising costs due to currency fluctuations and the removal of preferential exchange rates. Hamidreza Kashani, head of the Central Union of Poultry Farmers, stated that the cost of production for chicken and eggs has increased several times over because of the rising dollar rate and general inflation.

Industry experts report that the cost of raw materials has surged; for instance, soybean prices rose from approximately 20,000 to 100,000 tomans, while corn prices jumped from 11,000–12,000 to over 50,000 tomans. This has led to a situation where the production cost of eggs at the farm gate is reportedly 338,000 tomans per kilogram, while market prices remain lower, creating a deficit for producers.

Ehsan Nouri of the Iranian Feed, Poultry, and Aquaculture Industries Association noted that these price hikes are causing poultry products to be removed from household shopping baskets. Currently, only half of the country's animal feed factory capacity is active. Furthermore, poultry meat production in Iran is estimated to be 90% dependent on imported animal feed.