The Government Trading Corporation (GTC) of Iran says wheat imports into the country would reach record levels in the calendar year to March amid a sharp fall in domestic crop which has been caused by drought as well as by price issues.
GTC chief Yazdan Seyf said on Wednesday that Iran had imported around three million metric tons of wheat since the start of the calendar year in late March.
Seyf added that Iran would need to import another five million tons of wheat until the end of the current calendar year to ensure supplies would be enough to meet domestic demand.
He said that total purchase of wheat from domestic farmers had reached 4.5 million tons at the end of the harvesting season in September.
“We hope higher precipitation and less severe drought could help up reduce reliance on foreign (suppliers) for wheat,” said the official as he insisted that drought had severely hit the domestic wheat production this year.
Some experts have blamed low guaranteed purchase prices (GPP) announced for wheat by the government in recent years for a sharp fall in domestic crop.
They say the problem has been exacerbated by drought and has caused production to more than half within a couple of years.
However, Seyf said that a GPP of 75,000 rials ($0.27) announced for buying wheat from Iranian farmers in the next harvesting season starting May 2022 would be on par with international prices.
Reports in the media and statements by government sources suggest that Russia has been responsible for a bulk of wheat exported to Iran this calendar year.