"The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announces that the export market for sheep with the Republic of Iran has been opened thanks to the diplomatic efforts and the Government of Romania in the last period. Thus, in January 2019 the export certificate model was agreed between the National Veterinary Sanitary Authority and Food Safety in Romania (ANSVSA) and the Veterinary Organization of Iran, the ban on live sheep and goat exports to Iran being suspended," the Romanian authorities said.

On the 4th of February 2019, a shipment of 20 tonnes of sheep meat from Romania has already reached Iran. The export company from Bacau, Romania, is in talks to send an estimated 1,000 tonnes on a monthly basis to this country.

"MADR welcomes this success, in the context of a very high demand in Iran of sheep and sheep meat in live and ever increasing, in a field where our country has ample possibilities.

The talks between Romanian businessmen and Iranian companies interested in such a collaboration are in a very advanced stage, and within six months, Romanian economic agents will export to Iran a staff of about 800,000 sheep, among them which 200,000 will be sent to the destination country by a commercial company in Bucharest, and the rest by a company in Timis county," MADR's statement read.

In 2017, among the countries with the largest number of sheep and goats from the EU, Romania occupied the fourth place behind the UK, Spain, and Greece, with a total of 11,485 head, according to the data released by Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INS).