Land Under Wheat Cultivation Near 4.5m Hectares
EghtesadOnline: Close to 4.5 million hectares have so far gone under wheat cultivation this year, more than 1.27 million hectares of which are irrigated and 3.21 million hectares are rain-fed, showing a 7.4% and 3.7% increase respectively compared with the similar period of last year, according to the manager of the Agriculture Ministry’s “Wheat Project”.
“We estimate a total of 6 million hectares to go under the cultivation of this staple grain this year,” Esmaeil Esfandiarpour was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
The official noted that precipitation has been favorable this year and predicted ample yields.
The government has bought 8.22 million tons of wheat from local farmers in 31 Iranian provinces in the current fiscal year (started March 20), which indicates a 7% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
This amount of purchased wheat has cost the Government Trading Corporation 207.8 trillion rials ($818 million), Mizan Online reported.
Khuzestan with 1.2 million tons, Fars with 911,000 tons and Golestan with 820,000 tons topped the list of provinces from where the purchases were made.
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.