Baku, Azerbaijan, May 10
Trend:
The Iranian agriculture ministry plans to double colza oilseed production during the current year, Alireza Mohajer, adviser to the agriculture minister, said.
He forecast that Iran’s colza output for the crop year to Sept. 22, 2018 will reach 350,000 tons, two times more than the output in the preceding year, the agriculture ministry’s official website reported.
Domestic production of oilseeds is vital for Iran in terms of saving foreign currency, the official said.
He added that the ministry is planning to meet at least 70 percent of the domestic demand from local production by 2025.
Iran’s dependency on oilseed imports was 94 percent in 2015, when the administration started a plan to boost the cultivation of the product, he said, expressing hope that the figure will decrease to 82 percent in current year, which would prevent outflow of some $440-480 million.
Iran has taken various measures in recent years to boost the country’s oilseed output to reduce the country’s reliance on imports of raw vegetable oils.
The administration has allocated about 30 million rials (each USD makes 42,000 rials) of credit per hectare for the cultivation of colza and other oilseeds.
Per capita vegetable oil consumption in Iran is about 18-19 kilograms a year. The global average is 12 kilograms.
Domestic demand for raw vegetable oil stands at about 1.5 million tons per year, according to the agriculture ministry.
Alongside colza, soybeans, safflower and sunflower seeds are being cultivated in the country.
Every year, the government buys strategic crops, including oilseeds from local farmers at guaranteed prices to build up its strategic reserves and control prices in the domestic market.
Last year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) began a technical cooperation program with Iran called "Capacity Building for Increasing Sustainable Oilseed Production Focused on Soybean Value,” which will be carried out over two years (2017-19).
The main objectives of the project include building capacity in the public and private sectors for using innovative methods in producing sustainable crops and applying the methods to the oilseed value chain as well as integrating the latest technologies into cereal-based production systems.