A total of 1,945,421 tons of wheat were unloaded from 122 vessels at Iranian ports during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22), according to Farhad Montasar-Kouhsari, the deputy head of Ports and Maritime Organization.
Stressing that imports of wheat are carried out mainly through maritime transport, the official noted that about 1.8 million tons of wheat are expected to be imported via ports in the month ending Oct. 22.
“A total of 6 million tons of wheat will be produced domestically, suggesting that the country needs to import 5 million tons of wheat in the current year [ending March 20, 2022], given the annual demand for 11 million tons of wheat,” he was quoted as saying by Pmo.ir.
Some 5 million tons of wheat were purchased by the government from local farmers during the last crop year (September 2020-21), showing a 30% decline compared with the previous year, according to the deputy head of the National Wheat Farmers Foundation.
“Farmers have kept part of their harvest to use as seeds for the next crop year, but the Government Trade Corporation purchase centers will be open until November for farmers who change their mind and decide to sell their reserved yields since the government has provided enough seeds this year,” Aliqoli Imani was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
The official said the current year’s crop year will soon begin and some farms in the country’s colder regions are to go under cultivation over the next few days.
The government, through its commercial arm GTC, buys essential crops from local farmers at guaranteed prices to build up its reserves and control the wheat market.
Imani noted that every year around 6 million hectares of land go under wheat cultivation, 4 million hectares of which are rain-fed and the rest are irrigated.
“We have proved over the past crop years that we have the capacity to produce between 14 million and 15 million tons of wheat every year. This figure is more than the domestic demand and can be reached every year by implementing correct policies, proper management and the timely supply of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides,” he said.
“Our domestic demand currently stands at 11 million tons per year. Some 9 million tons of this goes to supply the country’s bread and the remaining 3 million tons are used in industrial and pastry factories.”
Impact of Drought
Director General of Agriculture Ministry’s Grains and Essential Goods Production Bureau Faramak Aziz-Karimi said the decline in this year’s wheat production was due to low precipitation and water shortage.
“We have to shift to modern irrigation systems and make this a priority, since the water situation is getting more concerning by the year. During the 2015-16 and 2016-17 crop years, Iran reached full self-sufficiency in wheat production. But this year, the figure has dropped to 70%,” Aziz-Karimi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Drought has inflicted 670 trillion rials ($2.4 billion) in losses on Iran’s agriculture sector since the beginning of the current crop year, according to Mohammad Mousavi, an official with the Agriculture Ministry.
Assessments carried out over 11.2 million hectares of farmlands in 30 provinces show 43% of the total losses pertained to the decline in production of agronomic crops, 26% to horticultural products, 13% to fisheries and livestock, and 11% to forage crops, he said in June.
“In addition, 4% of the total losses are to blame on challenges created in water transportation infrastructures, such as pools, pipes, aqueducts and springs, while 3% of losses can be attributed to water supply complications and the animal feed used by nomads,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
In a recent report, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has warned agricultural officials of an imminent drought that would cripple the country’s agricultural activities and hamper economic growth in this sector in the current Iranian year (March 2021-22).
The ICCIMA report says precipitation levels have fallen drastically, Mehr News Agency reported.
The Majlis Research Center has released a list of Iranian provinces in a critical state of water shortage: Isfahan, Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ardabil, Fars, Markazi and Khorasan Razavi.
Earlier this month, Ataollah Hashemi, the head of National Wheat Farmers Foundation, told Young Journalists Club that this year’s guaranteed purchases will hover around 5 million tons, meaning strategic reserves put aside, the government needs to import more than 3 million tons of the staple grain to meet the annual domestic demand.
This is while last year, wheat imports stood at 2 million tons and that, he said, was to mainly fill up the country’s strategic reserves.
Farmers’ Reluctance to Sell to Gov’t
The official believes that, though influenced by this year’s drought and water shortage, wheat production in general has not received that much of a heavy blow, but farmers have not been selling the lion’s share of their yields to the government like in the past few years.
“This has a few reasons. The first one being the unreasonable guaranteed purchase prices that not only doesn’t cover production prices, but leaves the farmers will little to no profits. Then there is the increase in livestock feed prices, which makes wheat a suitable and relatively cheaper alternative to other kinds of feed. And lastly, wheat prices in the neighboring countries are higher and this fact has resulted in the smuggling of the commodity beyond the country’s borders.”
Hashemi said the foundation estimates that some 1.5 million tons of wheat have been smuggled out of Iran since the beginning of the harvest season.
Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, the head of the board of directors at the Federation of Iranian Food Associations, told ILNA that before the global rise in wheat prices, the private sector suggested the government buy the staple grain from foreign partners, since it had correctly predicted that production and subsequently, local guaranteed purchases will decline.
“As far as we know, the government took heed and made timely purchases of around 4.5 million tons of the grain from international markets. Part of these imports have already been carried out and entered the domestic market and the remaining consignments are to gradually reach the country’s ports,” he said.
