TEHRAN: Iran will not import wheat in the current Iranian calendar year (which began on March 21), as the country has enough reserve of the cereal and also plans to purchase sufficient amount of the product at guarantee price, according to an official with Iran’s Agriculture Ministry.
Iranian Deputy Agriculture Minister Ali Qanbari said about seven million tons of wheat has been purchased at guarantee price in the current calendar year and it is forecast to reach more than eight million tons by the year end.
Also, five million tons of the cereal has been reserved in the past calendar year, the official added.
Iran’s annual cereal production is estimated to rise to 19.8 million tons in 2015 from 19.1 million tons in 2014, according to a report released by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in May.
The report forecasts Iran’s annual wheat production will increase to 13.5 million tons this year from 13 million tons the year before.
On April 18, Iranian Deputy Agriculture Minister AbdolmehdiBakhshandeh said Iran’s agricultural exports in the previous Iranian calendar year rose by 27 percent compared to its preceding year.
Meanwhile, agricultural imports amounted to $12 billion, a 9 percent fall compared to its preceding year.
Iranian Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati has said that by producing over 90 million tons of agricultural products per year, Iran is among ten top countries in the world.
