“This year’s wheat purchases from local farmers at guaranteed prices began on March 26 in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province,” Yazdan Seif, who also doubles as the head of Government Trading Corporation of Iran, was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Iran has been self-sufficient in wheat production for two years now and only imports the crop for reexportation after it is processed.
More than 8.87 million tons of wheat worth 116 trillion rials ($2.83 billion) were purchased from Iranian farmers by the government last year, according to Financial Tribune.
A record high of 14 million tons of wheat were domestically produced the year before, 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 for the first time after about a decade.
GTC is a government-owned company specializing in the purchase, import and distribution of essential foodstuff. It is the lever for enforcing market controls.
The company is also in charge of maintaining a supply of wheat, rice, cooking oil and meat for the country’s strategic reserve of essential goods.
Every year, the government buys strategic crops, including wheat, from local farmers at guaranteed prices to control prices in the domestic market.