Figures by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that wheat output in Iran is going to increase by 10% this year.
USDA figures cited in a Wednesday report by Iran’s official IRNA news agency showed that total wheat output in Iran could reach 14.5 million metric tons (mt) this year, up from 13.2 million mt reported in 2022.
The figures mean Iran will be the 12th largest wheat supplier in the world in 2023, said the USDA.
That comes as global wheat production is expected to remain almost flat this year at 789 million mt from 788 million mt reported last year, showed the figures.
The USDA said Iran’s wheat imports will drop by 0.5 million mt to 4 million mt this year, adding that wheat inventories in the country will remain at levels seen at the end of 2022 which were reported to be 4.44 million mt.
The figures showed that Iran’s barley output is also expected to increase by 7% to 3.2 million mt in 2023 while imports will reach 2.3 million mt over the same period, up slightly from 2.2 million mt of imports reported last year.
Iran has sought to rely more on domestic agricultural output for its food security purposes since 2018 when the United States imposed sanctions on the country and restricted its access to international trade.