FAO Expects Iran’s Cereal Production to Rise by 13.5%

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations expects Iran’s total cereal production to increase by 13.5% in 2022 compared with last year to reach 20.3 million tons.
The new quarterly report titled Crop Prospects and Food Situation has put Iran’s five-year average annual production at 21 million tons.
Production in 2021 was estimated at 17.9 million tons.
Coarse grain production is projected to reach 4.3 million tons in 2022, unchanged compared to last year. Five-year average output has been put at 3.9 million tons.
Wheat production is projected to reach 13 million tons in 2022, up from 10.4 million tons last year.
The five-year average has been put at 13.5 million tons.

Wheat

A total of 1.7 million tons of wheat have been imported to Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year on March 21, registering a 113% rise compared with the similar period of last year, the Government Trading Corporation of Iran announced last month.
GTC, affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry, is in charge of ensuring the adequate supply of essential goods, including wheat, rice, cooking oil, sugar and meat, to the local market.
Iran has imported a total of 96.48 million tons of wheat worth $22.84 billion over the past 30 years, spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration said recently.
The highest volume of imports were registered in the fiscal 2014-15 with 7.43 million tons, 2021-22 with 7.07 million tons and 2001-2 with 6.77 million tons, Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
He added that the lowest volume was registered in the fiscal 2018-19 with only 360 tons. 
The private sector has been allowed to place orders for wheat imports as of Aug. 23. The government agreed to take the measure after seven years of banning wheat imports by private traders, according to the head of the Agriculture and Food Processing Commission of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
“In a meeting with first vice president around three months ago, we made our request for the private sector to be allowed to be active in the field of wheat imports. Fortunately, our request was accepted and later the government’s Economic Council agreed to give us the permit. Now a directive allowing private businesses to import different types of wheat has been communicated to provinces across the country,” Kaveh Zargaran was also quoted as saying by the news portal of TCCIM.
The official noted that every year, domestic wheat harvest comes to an end in September, so imports of the grain cannot hurt local farmers at this time.
Iran will need to import at least 7 million tons of wheat in the year ending March 2023, marking a second year of high imports as drought continues to affect domestic production, Zargaran said in May.
He gave the forecast in a conference presentation, extracts of which were passed to Reuters by his office.
Iran's Grain Union estimates that the country imported a record 8 million tons of wheat in the previous year to March 2022, Zargaran's office said.
Domestic wheat output can vary widely depending on rainfall and the country has in some years been self-sufficient in the staple cereal.
Iran is among countries in the Middle East to have suffered from drought in the past year, increasing the import burden on states at a time of rising world prices.
Importers are now facing additional difficulties as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has disrupted Black Sea grain shipments.
Iran also has the challenge of financing imports in the face of US sanctions, which it is aiming to get lifted through negotiations to revive an accord related to its nuclear program.
The projected wheat imports in the year ahead would contribute to total expected Iranian imports of 25 million tons in grains, soymeal and oilseeds, Zargaran added in his presentation.
The Iranian government has purchased 7.15 million tons of wheat worth 827.86 trillion rials ($2.6 billion) from local farmers from the beginning of the harvest season on March 24 to Sept. 14, registering a 58% rise in tonnage compared with the similar period of last year, the CEO of the Government Trading Corporation said earlier this week.
“The value of this year’s purchases exceeds that of the years between 2017 to 2021, which stood at an aggregate of 812.03 trillion rials [$2.55 billion],” Saeed Rad was also quoted as saying by ILNA.   
This year, guaranteed purchases started from the Provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan, Kerman and Khuzestan, all in southern Iran.
The government bought around 4.52 million tons of the grain in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), according to Rad.

Rice

Rice production is projected to reach 3 million tons in 2022, down from 3.1 million tons last year. Five-year average output has been put at 3.5 million tons.
Rice consumption in Iran currently stands at 3 million tons per year, 70% of which are supplied through domestic production.
A total of 2.25 million tons of rice were produced in Iran during the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), according to the deputy head of Iran Rice Union.
“According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, more than 1.2 million tons of rice were imported last year,” Ahmad Eshraqi was also quoted as saying by the Young Journalists Club.
The three northern provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan are Iran’s rice production hubs.
Director General of Grains and Essential Goods Affairs Bureau with the Ministry of Agriculture Faramak Aziz-Karimi said there are 654,000 hectares of paddy fields scattered across the country, 440,000 hectares of which are located in the three northern provinces.