Wheat Imports Increase by 60% in Volume, 92% in Value

Wheat imports stood at 3.6 million tons worth $1.2 billion since the beginning of the current fiscal year on March 21, up until Nov. 6, registering a 60% rise in volume and 92% growth in value compared with the similar period of last year.
The grain, considered an essential good, is imported using subsidized foreign currency (at the rate of 42,000 rials per dollar), ISNA reported. 
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels. 
Yazdan Seif, CEO of the Government Trade Corporation, affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry, said this year the government managed to buy only 4.53 million tons of wheat from local farmers as part of its guaranteed purchase plan, adding that this was due to an overall decline in production, which in turn resulted from low precipitation, water shortage and bad weather conditions.