Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.12/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran is facing a budget deficit for purchasing wheat from domestic farmers at guaranteed prices and this issue could harm wheat production in the country, ISNA quoted agriculture ministry official Delavar Heidarpour as saying.
Wheat farmers are disinclined to sell their output to state buyers as the administration pay them less than the figure it pays for importing from abroad, he added.
So far, state buyers have purchased 4.3 million tons of wheat from farmers, while some 10 million tons of the grain have been harvested, he noted.
If the financial problem continues, the wheat yield will decline in coming years, he said.
The administration buys wheat at a guaranteed price of 7200 rials , about $30 cents per kilogramme based on the Tehran Forex Centre's USD exchange rate of 24770 rials from farmers, but each kilogramme of wheat costs over 8500 rials, another official Jasem Saedi said in June.
The private sector buys wheat from farmers at a higher price. So they prefer to sell wheat to the private sector, he noted.
Iran imported 936,000 tons of wheat worth $400 million during the first four months of this solar year, ended on July 19, indicating a 51 per cent decrease compared to same period last year.
The State Commerce Company imports wheat at $360-370 (8.9-9.1 million rials) per kilogramme, but does not pay more than 8500 rials, he said.
In June, the Fars News Agency reported that the Central Bank of Iran has been authorised to allocate 70 trillion rials ($5.7 billion based on the official rate dollar of 12,260 rials) for buying wheat from domestic farmers.
The Central Bank of Iran allocated 70 trillion rials, equal to about $5.7 billion under the country's official exchange rate, for domestic wheat purchases in June. The country had purchased about three million tons of domestic wheat as of the end of this month. Recent currency devaluations tied to international sanctions and lower oil exports are raising concerns about food security in the country, according to the FAO.
Iran's wheat harvest is almost finished and may total about 14.5 million tons, up about five per cent from the 13.8 million tons collected a year earlier, the FAO said. Total grain production may be 21.85 million tons, up 3.4 per cent from last year including 3.2 million tons of barley and 2.4 million tons of rice.