Baku, Azerbaijan, July 5
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran needs to import 2-2.5 million metric tons of wheat in the current Iranian fiscal year, which began on March 21, said Abbas Keshavarz, the Iranian deputy agriculture minister.
The country's wheat consumption is about 11 million metric tons, Iran's Fars news agency quoted Keshavarz as saying on July 5.
He added that reducing the imports of wheat is dependent on boosting domestic production.
Based on the Iranian Customs Administration report, Iran imported 6.954 million metric tons of wheat, worth $2.289 billion, in the past Iranian fiscal year.
Iran's annual cereal production is estimated to rise to 19.8 million metric tons in 2015 from 19.1 million metric tons in 2014, according to the latest report released by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The report forecasts Iran's annual wheat production will increase to 13.5 million metric tons this year from 13 million metric tons the year before.
It also estimates an increase in the country's annual rice production to 1.7 million metric tons in 2015 from 1.6 million metric tons in 2014.