The Agriculture Ministry has banned wheat imports as of the next Iranian year (to start March 20, 2016), citing Iran’s sufficient reserves. The government has bought 8.08 million tons of wheat from domestic farmers this year, 1.4 million tons more than last year, Mehr News Agency reported.
“As annual wheat imports have fallen to 1.5 million tons this year, we are hoping to become self-sufficient in wheat as soon as next year,” Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati told a Franco-Iranian business forum held last week in Paris.
Despite the ban, flour producers will be allowed to import wheat, provided they export their products.
