Geneva ? A United Nations panel has lifted a ban on international trade in several types of caviar from the Caspian Sea, but still hasn’t decided whether to permit exports of the highly prized – and hugely expensive – beluga variety, an official said Tuesday.

The move by a U.N.-sponsored conservation organization means that Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan can legally sell limited amounts of the gourmet delicacy on the world market in 2007.

Last year, the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, banned the global trade in most Caspian caviar – the processed eggs of the sturgeon – to help protect the endangered fish.

Only Iran was allowed to export caviar from certain fish that are more abundant in its waters. The Web site of a Seattle caviar company offers one type of Iranian caviar for $2,960 per pound. Beluga caviar, still under a U.N. ban, can sell for $5,000 a pound or more, depending on taste and quality.