A total of 3.11 million tons of essential goods were imported into Iran by 130 vessels during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), registering a 29% drop in weight compared with the similar period of last year, figures released by the Government Trading Corporation show.
Also known as necessity or basic goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
During the corresponding period of last year, GTC imported more than 4.4 million tons of essential goods carried by 173 vessels, IRNA reported.
GTC, affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry, is in charge of ensuring an adequate supply of essential goods, including wheat, rice and cooking oil, to the local market.
Among the reasons for the decline in essential goods imports is rising domestic production of these commodities and sufficiency in strategic reserves.
In the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), a total of 30.9 million tons of essential goods worth $19.6 billion were imported into the country, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration. The figures showed a 32% and 60% rise in weight and value respectively compared with the year before.
FAO Expects Iran’s Cereal Output 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.
2021 production was estimated to be 17.9 million tons.
Coarse grains 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.
Five-year average output has been put at 13.5 million tons.
Wheat
A total of 1.7 million tons of wheat have been imported 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 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 the 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 added that every year, domestic wheat harvest comes to an end in September, so imports of the grain cannot hurt local farmers at this time.
The Iranian government has purchased 7.15 million tons of wheat worth 827.86 trillion rials ($2.5 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 2017 to 2021, which stood at an aggregate of 812.03 trillion rials [$2.4 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.
Its consumption in Iran currently stands at 3 million tons per year, 70% of which are supplied through domestic production, according to a deputy minister of agriculture.
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 Agriculture Ministry 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.
Vegetable Oil
Only around 150,000 tons of the annual domestic demand for refined edible oils are produced locally, as more than 1.5 million tons are supplied via imports, according to the Government Trade Corporation.
At present, over 183,000 hectares go under colza cultivation every year, from which close to 295,000 tons of the oilseed are produced, Mehr News Agency reported.
Golestan in the north of the country with 51,000 hectares under cultivation and annual yields of around 80,000 tons tops the list of provinces where colza is produced, followed by Khuzestan Province in the south with 45,500 hectares producing around 76,000 tons of the oilseed.
Other main producers of oilseed in Iran are the provinces of Fars, North Khorasan, Ardabil, Mazandaran, Sistan-Baluchestan, Kerman, West Azarbaijan, Semnan and Isfahan.
Per capita vegetable oil consumption in Iran is about 18-19 kilograms a year, while the global average is 12 kilograms.
Iran’s Agriculture Ministry set a roadmap in late 2015 to achieve 70% self-sufficiency in the production of oilseeds over a 10-year period to keep the costly imports of oilseeds and vegetable oil in check. At the time, domestic production met 6% of the annual demand.
Last year, around six years after the plan was first implemented, the figure reached 16%.
Also stipulated in the 10-year plan is that land under oilseed cultivation should reach 700,000 hectares by the end of the plan (fiscal 2025-26). This is while today, according to GTC, the figure is a bit shy of 300,000 hectares, meaning the government has less than three years to convince farmers to cultivate these products on 400,000 hectares of their farms.
Experts believe the rise in production costs, decline in precipitation levels, low purchase prices set by the government and the rise in global prices are among the reasons behind the government plan’s failure.
“Compared with other crops, oilseed guaranteed prices [set by the government] have always been low. This is the main reason farmers have shown little interest in cultivating such crops. This year, the parliament ratified that a Pricing Committee take over the responsibility of setting prices for different types of oilseeds instead of the government. This committee is made up of state and private sector officials and has agreed on higher prices for the next crop year,” Qasem Pishehvar, the head of Agriculture and Natural Resources Guild Organization.
