Sugar Self-Sufficiency Within 4 Years

Iran can achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production within the next four years provided domestic factories are equipped with up-to-date machinery.

Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati made the statement in a ceremony held at Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture in Tehran on Sunday to celebrate last year’s record high sugar production in the country, Mehr News Agency reported.

A record high of 1.65 million tons of sugar were produced in Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2016-17), which amount is unprecedented in the last 120 years.

According to Bahman Danaei, secretary of Iran Guild Union for Sugar and Sugar Cube Factories, the record production means Iran is able to meet 75% of domestic demand for sugar through local production.

The main sugar-producing provinces in Iran are Khuzestan, West Azarbaijan and Khorasan Razavi.

Iranians consume between 2.2 and 2.4 million tons of sugar a year and last year the import of more than 550,000 tons of the product was needed.

Iran imports sugar mainly from Brazil.