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Iran pays off 97 percent of debt to domestic wheat farmers

Business Materials 14 September 2014 15:31 (UTC +04:00)

Tehran, Iran, September 14

By Milad Fashtami - Trend:

Iran paid off 97 percent of its total debt to domestic wheat farmers.

The Iranian government has purchased 6.654 million tons of wheat worth 70.29 trillion rials (some $2.273 billion based on the exchange rate of USD at the free market from domestic farmers from the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21) so far, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on September 14.

The figure shows 40 percent increase compared to the previous year.

The Iranian government has set up 712 centers for purchasing wheat from farmers in 31 provinces.

Iranian ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sana'ee said on September 9 that his country is ready to import 10 million tons of wheat from Russia, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported.

Deputy Agricultural Jihad Minister Abbas Keshavarz said in August that Iran will not be able to reach self-sufficiency on wheat production in the next four years.

"The country's total production will reach 13.4 million tons by the end of the Iranian calendar year of 1397 (to end March 20, 2019)," he said, Iran's ISNA News Agency reported on August 13.

"The country's wheat imports will also stand at 1.35 million tons by the end of the mentioned year," he said.

By producing 10.5 million tons of wheat, Iran reached self-sufficiency in wheat production in 2004 and during the presidency of Mohammad Khataai. But according to Iran's current president, Hassan Rouhani, the country's output has decreased by one million ton per year since 2004. At present, the country should import 7.2 million tons to meet its domestic demands.

According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Iran produced 14 million tons of wheat in the previous calendar year (which ended on March 20).

However, during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency Iran reportedly submitted false reports to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) regarding the country's wheat output.

Isa Kalantari, Secretary General of Iran's House of Farmers, previously said that the country's domestic need is around 13 million tons, which is even one million tons less than the announced production rate in the previous year. However, the country imported considerable volume of wheat.

MP Seyed Razi Nouri said in September last year that the country's wheat production reduced to 3 million tons per year.

Iran customs administration's reports suggest that Iran imported 3.5 and 6.7 million tons of wheat in the calendar years of 1392 (which ended on March 20, 2013) and 1391 (which ended on March 20, 2012), respectively.

Ahmadinejad's administration had put the production rate of the mentioned years at 13.5 and 14 million tons.

That's why, Iran's wheat imports in the calendar year of 1390 (ended March 20, 2011) were around 233,000 tons. So the country's imports increased by 30 times in 1391.

Iran imported 1.4 million tons of wheat in the first two months of the current year (March 21 - May 20).

Iranian media reports suggest that due to the low price, farmers are not willing to sell their wheat to the government and prefer to sell them to private buyers.

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