The government bought 6.5 million tons of wheat worth 740 trillion rials ($2.32 billion) from local farmers from the beginning of the harvest season on March 24 to August 5, according to Ataollah Hashemi, the head of National Wheat Farmers Foundation.
The volume registers a 46% growth in tonnage compared with the similar period of last year, he added.
Considered a staple in Iran, wheat is purchased every crop year by the government to build up its reserves and supply the market over time. This year, government purchases of wheat started from the provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan, Kerman and Khuzestan, all in southern Iran.
“Our estimates are that wheat production will reach 10 million tons by the end of the harvest season [in September], to register a 20% rise compared with last year. We now estimate that the government will purchase more than 7 million tons of the grain, whereas only a month ago we predicted that purchases would not exceed 6 million tons,” Hashemi was quoted as saying by the Young Journalists Club.
The officials expect imports of wheat to see a decline of 2.5-3 million tons this year compared with last year.
Last year (March 2021-22), 7.07 million tons of the staple grain were imported, based on figures released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, as the government bought around 4.52 million tons of wheat.
The government says it has doubled the prices of wheat it buys from farmers compared to last year.
FAO Forecasts
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations expects Iran’s wheat production to increase to 13 million tons in 2022 from an estimated 9 million tons in 2021, to register more than 44% rise.
In its biannual report on global food markets, FAO has put the 2019-20 average production of wheat in Iran at 14.3 million tons.
Due to the projected rise in production, imports are forecast to decline from 7.9 million tons to 3.4 million tons.
The 2018-19 to 2020-21 average import has been put at 1.6 million tons.
Wheat consumption is forecast to increase slightly to 16.4 million tons in 2022-23 from 16.2 million tons in 2021-22.
The 2018-19 to 2020-21 average consumption has been put at 15.8 million tons.
According to FAO, Iran’s wheat stocks in the year to 2023 is forecast to decline to 6.9 million tons from an estimated 7 million tons in 2022. The average stocks volume during 2019-21 has been put at 6.4 million tons.
Per capita wheat consumption is forecast to slightly increase to 169.7 kilograms per year in 2022-23 from an estimated 169.4 kilograms per year in 2021-22.
The 2018-19 to 2020-21 average per capita has been put at 168.7 kilograms per year.
