TEHRAN,Iran, April 13
Trend:
Iran's wheat production is to reach to 14 million tons in the current Iranian year (started March 20,2020), while the agriculture sector is responsible for providing food security, said First Vice President of Iran Eshaq Jahangiri, Trend reports via IRNA.
"The focus is to reach self-sufficiency in wheat production, based on reports country's wheat production would reach 14 million tons and while the government is in tight budget, it has agreed to purchase wheat for 25,000 rials (about 59 cents) per kilo and sell it to bakeries, which is beneficial to farmers and self-sufficiency in production" said Jahangiri.
"Iran is currently has surplus in products including milk and poultry, as the implemented measures in agriculture sector have expanded the capacities," he said.
With regards to coronavirus spreading across Iran, Jahangiri said that "the fight against Coronavirus should be taken seriously and the government priority is the people's health".
"The National Headquarters to Fight Coronavirus has asked everyone to stay at home, as its not certain how long the situation would last," he said.
Adviser to Iran’s Agriculture Minister Esmaeil Esfandiaripour previously said that wheat harvesting will begin in late May in the cold regions of Iran and in general, the wheat harvest in Iran lasts 4.5 months.
"There are more than 6 million hectares of land in Iran for wheat cultivation. Its 4 million hectares are used for dryland farming and about 2 million hectares for water farming," he said.
The official forecasted that more than 14 million tons of wheat will be harvested this year.