Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 16
By Fatih Karimov – Trend
Iran’s wheat production is expected to reach 13.5 million tons during the next year, Esmaeil Esfandiaripour, an official with Iran's agriculture ministry said.
Some 5.75 million hectares of land in Iran is planed to go under wheat farming this crop year(started Sept. 21, 2016), Esmaeil Esfandiaripour, the official in charge of the "Wheat Project"—the government policy to purchase the crop from farmers at a guaranteed price— said, Mehr news agency reported Nov. 16.
He further said that from the aforementioned figure 2.5 million hectares will be irrigated and 3.7 million hectares will be rain-fed area.
So far 4 million hectares has gone under the wheat cultivation, Esfandiaripour said, adding the cultivation will be finalized in next month.
Iran’s wheat production reached 14 million tons during the current year. The country plans to export its surplus wheat to Iraq and Afghanistan in flour form.
Almost 7.5 million tons of wheat is used by bakery units in Iran and the country’s food industry also needs 2.5 million tons of wheat every year. Adding the amount considered as strategic reserves to the figure, the Islamic Republic needs over 13 million tons of wheat annually.