Dubai firm enters into contract to directly and legally import the delicacy, after a gap of three years



They gleamed like golden pearls, perfectly formed with hearts of moonshine. They lay in a tiny, elegant mound on a little mother-of-pearl dish, waiting to be savoured, appreciated.

This, said Hamdah Harizi, is genuine Iranian caviar, imported into this country legally and directly from Iran after three years (the last such import was in March 2000).

Hamdah is the proprietor of Black Pearl Caviar Int'l, a five-year-old Dubai company that has been chosen as the sole distributor of fabled Iranian caviar in the UAE, following the lifting of an international ban.

It has entered into a direct business relationship with Shilat Trading Corp., the Iranian government organ that manages, monitors and controls all trade of Iranian caviar.

Iran, incidentally, has one of the best caviar management systems in place.

Iran Air flew in the first consignment of caviar - 120 kilos of the nutty-flavoured oscietra - into Dubai International Airport on August 5, 2003. Most of the caviar is stacked neatly in the cold room of Black Pearl's spotless factory in Al Quoz, Dubai.

That's where we were, looking at and photographing the round tins imprinted with a sturgeon, the "fossil fish" whose roe is cured to form caviar - an acknowledged delicacy the world over.

The 1-kilo and 1.8-kilo tins come packed inside cream-coloured wooden boxes stamped with DO NOT DROP in large red letters. The box bears the name of Shilat, the permit number and is neatly tied by strong yellow nylon ropes. The Shilat seal closes each box.

Each manually vacuum-packed tin too bears the Shilat seal. Two one-cm sized seals, looking very much like little locks, secure the two ends of a nylon mesh wrapping the tin. The smaller tins of 200, 125, 50 and 30g also come with a security hologram. All this ensures the caviar inside is 100 per cent genuine Iranian and explains the price - Dh4,000 to Dh5,000 a kilo for the oscietra. This caviar has come into Dubai as a result of intense negotiations and trust-building.

"M.R. Hosseini, the managing director of Shilat, visited Dubai at our invitation on July 20," Hamdah said. "He met officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, spoke to top hotel chefs and surveyed the retail caviar market. We were able to convince him that the caviar trade in the UAE has been wholly regulated. He was impressed and said Shilat was ready to establish direct links with the UAE."

That led to the Iran Air flight carrying Iranian caviar into Dubai 16 days later. Black Pearl officials insist only they have the right to import Iranian caviar directly.


Fine caviar should be served alone, very cold, in a non-metallic (apart from gold) bowl nested inside a larger bowl filled with ice.
"Some other companies have said they too can import caviar directly from Shilat. I challenge them to do that. It is impossible," said Ali Mahmoudi, managing director of Black Pearl Caviar Int'l. "We have an exclusive agreement with Shilat. We are the only distributors in the UAE."

The Iranian oscietra caviar is being retailed in top supermarkets and is on the menu of select hotels, airlines and cruise liners. It is also available in Black Pearl's exclusive store in the Burj Al Arab.

The store sells beluga, oscietra and sevruga caviar from Iran - prices ranging from Dh20,000 to Dh3,000 per kilo - as well as little mother-of-pearl dishes and spoons ideal for serving caviar. The store also sells other gourmet products such as handmade chocolates and goose liver.


Ban lifted

Sturgeon poaching and caviar smuggling have hugely impacted the caviar trade. So much so that 25 of the 27 species of sturgeon have been included in Appendix 2 of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna), of which the UAE is a signatory.

This means an international trade in these species and their products can occur, but only under a system of permits.

"In October 2001, the CITES stopped the UAE from importing or re-exporting caviar because it was considered to be a major trans-shipment point for illegal caviar," explained Hamdah Harizi, proprietor of Black Pearl Caviar Int'l.

"Illegal caviar worth $21 million transited through the UAE in the first 10 months of 2001."

The ban was lifted in April 2002, she added. "The UAE successfully proved to the CITES secretariat that caviar trade in the UAE had been regularised and all loopholes had been plugged.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries had done a superb job cleaning the caviar trade of all irregularities. While earlier there were 15 companies dealing in caviar in this country, now there are less than five."

Actually there are only three, said an official at the ministry.

"The ministry has effectively regularised the caviar trade so this country once again enjoys an excellent reputation. All caviar available here is legal," said Dr Abdul Hadi, an official working in the ministry's Veterinary Quarantine Section. He is responsible for entry points (air and seaports etc).

"Black Pearl is the official distributor of Iranian caviar in the UAE. It is bringing in caviar directly from Iran through arrangements with Shilat," he confirmed.

"I'm very happy that Iranian caviar is now legally available in the UAE."


Serve it right

The finest caviar should taste neither fishy nor overly salty, with shiny, fine-grained egg globules.

Fine caviar should be served alone, very cold, in a non-metallic bowl nested inside a larger bowl filled with ice. Do not use silver and metal bowls because they might oxidise and give the caviar a metallic taste. Choose to serve in glass, bone, tortoise shell, wood and plastic.

Or, to be truly traditional, use mother-of-pearl or gold.

Fine caviar is best served simply, with toast points or bland, unsalted crackers, blinis or new potatoes.

Although purists will disagree, believing nothing should interfere with the flavour of fine caviar, common accompaniments include sour cream, créme frâiche, lemon wedges, hard-cooked egg (yolks and whites chopped separately), and minced onion.

Lesser quality caviar may actually taste better with the garnishes.


So, what exactly is caviar?

Caviar is cured roe from the female sturgeon fish. Only three species of sturgeon, all living in the Caspian Sea, provide caviar.

They are typically graded in three categories:

Beluga (the most expensive)
Weight - 75 to 100 kilos.
Length - two metres.
Life expectancy - average 100 years.
One Beluga fish produces 20 kilos of caviar. Beluga caviar ranges from dark to light grey and the eggs are large with a thin shell.

Oscietra (also