A total of 20 shipments, comprising 2,220 one-month-old ostrich chicks, were sent through the Dogharoun border crossing in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi to Herat, Afghanistan, said Hossein Jamshidi, the governor of Taybad.

The total value of the exported chicks is estimated at over 37.4 billion Iranian rials, he said.

Ostrich farming plays a vital role in increasing foreign exchange earnings, expanding domestic production, and creating jobs, the official said.