Sugarbeet production has reached 7.5 million tons so far this year, registering a new record, from which 1.9 million tons of sugar are estimated to be produced, an official with the Government Trading Corporation announced.
Alireza Fayyazi added that Iranians consume 2.2 million tons of sugar annually and close to 90% of the domestic demand will be supplied by local production this year.
This week, GTC started purchasing a total of 50,000 tons of the product from 26 sugar factories that have bought sugarbeet from farmers, Mehr News Agency reported.
In the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2017), 105,000 hectares went under sugarbeet cultivation and 11,000 hectares were designated for autumn cultivation.
Around 1.65 million tons of sugar were produced in Iran last year, 860,000 tons of which were produced from sugarbeet.
The provinces of West Azarbaijan, Khorasan Razavi, Fars and Kermanshah were major sugarbeet producers for spring cultivation while the provinces of Khuzestan, Khorasan Razavi and Golestan topped autumn cultivation. GTC is a state-owned company specialized in the purchase, import and distribution of essential food and handles the government’s guaranteed purchase of strategic crops such as wheat, rice and sugar.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints