The recent crisis of red meat in Iran (2019) shows that there is no coherent meat supply chain (MSC) in the country and its sectors face many challenges. According to the Iranian Statistical Center, in February 2019, lamb prices increased by 135.4% and beef increased by 124.4% compared to the same month in the year before. Given this rapid price jump and the low level of income, many people are forced to remove meat from their diet. Unfortunately, 188% increase in meat imports and the distribution of subsidized imported frozen lamb meat, which is cheaper than domestic meat, could not solve the crisis. Red meat is an important source of protein in Iran which also reflects the social status of the consumers. Trends such as vegetarianism are infant in that country. The meat crisis and its ineffective remedies show that a comprehensive investigation of MSC in Iran is indispensable. In our comprehensive research, we use governance of global value chain approach with the help of production network analysis (PNA) to understand the factors intensify the meat crisis in Khorasan Rasavi Province at the eastern borders of Iran. The adopted methodology will survey key actors and test for the main mechanism driving higher meat prices in the country. The project is part of the Leibniz Research Alliance (LFV) Crises in a Globalized World.

Concerning relevant actors for our research, we will implement a multi stage sampling design by interviewing major actors in meat supply chain consisting farmers, slaughterhouses, traders, retailers and distributers, and consumers. Furthermore, the envisioned cooperation with selected local partners gives us the chance to go forward with preparing a follow-up research proposal that will embrace wider topics in this field in the near future. This project will initiate further cooperation between IAMO, GIGA, and local partners as the pilot survey will be conducted to cover the data requirement for governance, market power and PNA studies. The results will be presented in international conferences and we will work on the empirical results to submit high quality papers for highly ranked journals.

Participating Institutes

Leibniz-Institut für Agrarentwicklung in Transformationsökonomien (IAMO)

German Institute for Global and aRea Studies (GIGA)

Contact persons

Dr. Tinoush Jamali Jaghdani (IAMO), Koordinator

Dr. Jan Priebe (GIGA)

Afsaneh Ehsani (IAMO)

Associate Prof. Dr. Arash Dourandish (Ferdowsi University of Mashdad, Iran)

Project term

06/2019 - 05/2020