“Besides soybeans, nearly 67,000 tons of colza, 6,300 tons of sunflower seeds and 1,000 tons of safflower have been purchased at guaranteed prices,” Ali Qanbari was quoted by Mehr News Agency as saying.
Based on the guaranteed purchase plan, every year the government buys crops from farmers even before the start of harvest season at set prices in order to build up reserves and control domestic prices.
The Ministry of Agricultural plans to achieve 70% self-sufficiency in the production of oilseeds within the next 10 years and limit the import of oilseeds and vegetable oil.
According to Alireza Mohajer, an official with the ministry, per capita vegetable oil consumption in Iran is about 18-19 kilograms a year. The global average is 12 kilograms.