Iran reports 30% rise in wheat purchases in April-June
Iran’s wheat purchases have increased significantly in the two months to early June compared to the same period last year.
CEO of Iran's Government Trading Corporation (GTC) said on Wednesday that it had bought some 3.5 million metric tons (mt) of wheat from domestic farmers since the start of this year’s harvest in April.
Saied Raad said the purchases had increased by 30% compared to the same period in April-June 2022.
Raad said the government has spent some 256 trillion rials ($512 million) to settle payments related to nearly half of the wheat purchased from domestic farmers this year.
Iran is expecting a major surge in domestic wheat output this year. The Iranian agriculture ministry’s guaranteed purchase program offers farmers 150,000 rials ($0.3) for each kilogram of wheat they deliver to GTC silos.
Government authorities have said that they can import wheat from other countries at prices lower than those offered to domestic farmers.
However, they say maintaining self-sufficiency in wheat production is key to Iran’s food security policies, especially at a time the country faces trade restrictions because of American sanctions.
Estimates suggest that total wheat output in Iran could reach 14.5 million mt this year, up from 13.2 million mt reported in 2022. The GTC plans to buy at least 8 million mt of that output until the end of this year’s harvest in late July with resources that would amount 1,200 trillion rials (2.4 billion).
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