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Iran has subsidised trout egg imports due to the lower feed conversion ratio of most imported trout eggs. However, the rainbow trout industry is divided on whether to allocate or abolish imported trout subsidies. The elimination of such support would lead to a three-fold rise in the price of imported trout eggs (which are already more expensive than domestic trout eggs). Furthermore, the economic performance of the domestic trout supply chain over the imported trout supply chain remains yet to be clarified. The present study seeks to evaluate whether imported trout egg subsidies should be continued. Economic efficiency and network data envelopment analysis are used to evaluate the performance and role of subsidies in trout supply chains in Mazandaran, one of the largest trout farming provinces as a new case study in the aquaculture sector, in 2018. Farms that used imported trout eggs were found to have lower economic efficiency and higher dependence on import subsidies. Feed costs were identified to be the most important explanation for poor economic efficiency of trout production. Finally, the results reveal that the development of domestic trout propagation supply chains with integrated forward vertical structures could improve efficiency in the system. The re-distribution of imported trout egg subsidies to fund feed cost reduction technologies could provide effective solutions to enhance economic efficiency, production sustainability and food security. K E Y W O R D S efficiency, imported eggs subsidies, Mazandaran province, network DEA, trout supply chains 1 | INTRODUCTION Rainbow trout are delicious and a protein-rich food. 1 They are easy to spawn, fast-growing and tolerant to a wide range of environments. 2