A total of 11.5 million tons of wheat were produced on 4.9 million hectares of farms across Iran during the last crop year (September 2021-22).
The figure registered a 45% rise compared with the previous year, according to the manager of the Agriculture Ministry’s “Wheat Project”.
“The reason for the rise is that the government increased its guaranteed purchase prices by 130% last year. The Agriculture Ministry reduced prices of inputs, including fertilizers and pesticides, by 50%. These measures encouraged farmers to cultivate the staple grain on their land,” Sohrab Sohrabi was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Considered a staple in Iran, wheat is purchased every crop year by the government to build up its reserves and supply the market over time.
The official noted that this crop year, wheat has been planted on over 1.58 million hectares of irrigated and 3.48 million hectares of rain-fed land so far and the overall figure is estimated to reach 6 million hectares.
Cultivation is currently in progress in Khuzestan, Fars, Bushehr, Ilam, Hormozgan, Kermanshah, Ardabil, Golestan, Mazandaran, Sistan-Baluchestan, Kerman, Yazd and Isfahan provinces.
“Wheat harvest is estimated to yield more than 12 million tons this year, of which the government will purchase around 9 million tons,” he said.
According to Sohrabi, domestic demand for wheat stands at 13.5 million tons per year, such that 10 million tons are used to supply bread, 2 million tons are earmarked for industrial purposes (pasta, biscuit, pastry production), around 1.2 million tons are used for seeds and the rest is used by villagers and nomads.