Impact of covid-19 on the fishery products- processing industry in Iran

According to the official reports of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, the corona virus or covid-19 was seen in our country (Iran) from the last months of 2018 and quickly turned into an epidemic. The entry of this virus into the country not only involved the country's health system and caused illness and death of many compatriots, but also had a significant impact on the country's economy in the production and trade sectors. Global reports indicate the negative impact of Covid-19 on the fisheries industry, the same as activities of aquatic processing industries in different countries. In this article, the impact of Covid-19 on the country's aquatic processing industry investigated. In order to conduct this research, a questionnaire containing 31 questions on important topics such as the effect of Covid-19 on the volume and price of raw materials, sales volume, type of product, income, labor forces, changes in the marketing method of processed products and other factors were gathered and subjected to the processing. A total of 56 completed answer sheets were received from the processing centers. The results of the analysis of the response letters showed that during the Corona era, 60% of the respondents confirmed a decrease in the supply of raw materials for aquatic products, 72.2% with an increase in the price of raw materials, 67.9% with a decrease in the volume of production, 80% with an increase in the finished product price, 80.8% with decrease in the volume of domestic sales, 81.5% were faced a decrease in the number of customers. Also, 75% of farmers' responses have reported a decrease in the number of seasonal employees during the Corona era. In terms of product exports, 84% of the respondents said a decrease in the volume of exports.