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Iran’s domestic wheat purchases at nearly 10 mln mt: GTC

Iran has bought nearly 10 million mt of wheat from domestic farmers this year.

Iran’s domestic purchases of wheat is reaching 10 million metric tons (mt) this year amid better government supports for farmers that has helped the country cut back on imports of basic goods and commodities.

The Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC) said on Wednesday that domestic wheat purchases had reached a total of 9.849 million mt since the start of harvesting season in April.

GTC’s CEO Saeid Raad said the purchases had increased by some 17% compared to the similar period last year.

Raad said the value of wheat purchased from domestic farmers this year had reached a total of 1,735 trillion rials (2.9 billion), adding that the government had spent some 470 trillion rials more on wheat purchases compared to the harvesting season in 2023.

He said five provinces of Khuzestan, Golestan, Fars, Kurdistan and Kermanshah had accounted for 52% of domestic wheat supplies in Iran, adding that wheat production had almost doubled in some provinces.

The figures come as Iran expects a record domestic wheat crop this year as it seeks to cut back on imports and rely more on the local farmers to meet its rising demand for grains.

Iran’s domestic wheat purchases had reached 10.3 million mt in the past calendar year, up from nearly 4 million mt in the year to March 2023.

The major increase in domestic wheat supplies last year allowed the government to cut annual imports from 7 million mt to 1.8 million mt.

Wheat imports into Iran is expected to further fall this calendar year as domestic supplies are expected to exceed 11.5 million mt.


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