Iran increased its wheat imports in the quarter ending June despite forecasts that the country will benefit from higher domestic production this year.
A report released Saturday by the ISNA news agency showed that Iranian wheat imports in the three months to June 21 had reached a total of 1.733 million metric tons (mt).
Iran spent more than $718 million on wheat imports in the June quarter, the report said, adding that the figure represented 16% of the total resources the country spent on commodity imports, including including cereals and medicines, during the period.
It comes as Iran’s total wheat imports in the calendar year to the end of March stood at 7 million tonnes, with the government spending $2.5 billion or 13% of funds earmarked for imports. of commodities for wheat shipments.
The surge in wheat imports into Iran comes despite forecasts suggesting that there will be a significant increase in domestic wheat production in the country this year.
Excerpts from a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report released on Saturday showed that Iran’s wheat production will increase by 25% to 13 million tonnes this year.
The FAO forecast that Iran’s total grain production will increase by 13.5% this year to 20.3 million tons, while grain stocks will increase by 1.3 million tons to reach 12.8 million. tons over the same period.
A military conflict between Russia and Ukraine that began earlier this year has disrupted grain exports from the world’s two main suppliers.
This has forced Iran to introduce measures to ensure it has enough grain stocks, including raising the price of domestic wheat purchases by nearly half for the current harvest season.
