According to Secretary of Iran’s Union of Producers of Egg-Laying Hen Farzad Talakesh, the consumption rate is dwarfed by those of many other countries, IRNA reported.

According to Financial Tribune, Mr Talakesh said the annual rates stand at 330 in Japan and Malaysia, 250 in China, Russia and the US, and 240 in Europe.

A 2013 report by the International Egg Commission indicated that Iran was the 10th biggest producer of eggs in the world that year.

An outbreak of H5N8 bird flu virus in Iranian farms last year, which led to the culling of 25-30 million chicken, raised prices of eggs in the domestic market, which still persist, though the outbreak was contained in May this year.