Gov’t Buys 550K Tons of Wheat in 20 Days

EghtesadOnline: The government has purchased about 550,000 tons of wheat from local farmers in eight provinces across the country over the past 20 days, the head of the Government Trading Corporation of Iran said.

News ID: ۷۷۵۸۸۴

03 May 2017

“Most of the purchases have been made from the two provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam,” Ali Qanbari was also quoted as saying by IRNA on Monday.

A record high of 14 million tons of wheat were produced last year, more than 11.76 million tons of which worth over $4 billion were purchased by the government from local farmers at guaranteed prices.

This helped Iran achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production, according to Financial Tribune.

“It is estimated that this year, some 11 million tons of the grain will be purchased and the self-sufficiency attained last year will endure in the current year,” Qanbari said.

The Iranian government buys certain essential crops, including wheat, from farmers at guaranteed price to build up its strategic reserves and control prices in the domestic market.