Agricultural Bank of Iran increased credit facilities for red meat production by 61% in the first nine months of the current Iranian year, paying IRR120trn ($82.8mn) to support livestock farming development, the ISNA reported on January 7.

Iran's livestock sector has faced pressure from currency volatility and rising feed costs. The dollar exchange rate surged to IRR1.48mn on January 8, then retreated to IRR1.467mn, contributing to increases in production costs across agricultural industries.

The bank disbursed facilities through more than 41,000 cases from the start of the year to the end of Azar month to build, develop and modernise livestock units across the country. The financing aims to directly support red meat production chain participants and supply household meat consumption.

Credit facilities increased by IRR45trn compared with the same period last year, reflecting the bank's commitment to supporting domestic production, increasing productivity and strengthening the protein products supply chain. The bank described the growth as part of its role in achieving national food security policies.

Facilities were mainly used to build new livestock farms, expand existing unit capacity, improve facilities, provide working capital, and upgrade technologies used in the livestock industry.

The financing plays an important role in creating sustainable employment, increasing red meat production, and reducing import dependence, as the industry faces historic shocks across the board, with livestock numbers dropping due to the ongoing spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Agricultural Bank, as the specialised bank for the agriculture sector, has consistently designed and implemented diverse financial instruments to meet the credit needs of sector participants according to the country's climatic, economic and regional conditions.