A total of 8.2 million tons of wheat worth 208.7 trillion rials ($834 million) were bought from local farmers as part of the government’s guaranteed purchase plan during the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), according to the deputy for domestic commercial affairs with the Government Trading Corporation of Iran.
As of April, purchases of this staple grain started in the southern provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr and Sistan-Baluchestan.
Estimates made by GTC show that the government will buy more than 9 million tons of wheat from farmers this year.
The ratified price for the guaranteed purchase of wheat has been set at 40,000 rials (around $0.16) for each kilo this year.
Based on figures released by the Agriculture Ministry, the grain has been cultivated on 6.15 million hectares across the country, showing a 2.3% increase compared with last year.
Every year, the government buys strategic crops, including wheat, beetroot, tea, barley, cotton boll and oilseeds, from local farmers at guaranteed prices to control prices in the domestic market and fill its strategic reserves.
Affiliated to the Agriculture Ministry, GTC is the official government body in charge of guaranteed wheat purchases.
Khuzestan, located in the Iranian southwest, is Iran’s biggest producer of wheat.