TEHRAN – According to a senior official with the Agriculture Ministry, the Iranian government has purchased some 6.3 million tons of wheat worth over $2.22 billion from farmers since April in carrying out a national plan that guarantees the purchase of domestic production of the crop.

Sohrab Sohrabi said the figure is 562,000 tons (10 percent) more than that of last year’s corresponding period when the government purchases stood at 5.741 million tons, IRNA reported.

He added that the government has so far paid over $1.05 million to the farmers which is nearly half of the sum that has to be paid.

The southwestern province of Khuzestan has been the number one province in the supply of wheat with 1.62 million tons of supply, followed by the provinces of Golestan, Fars and Ilam which ranked second to fourth, respectively, the official said.

It is estimated that between 14.5 and 15.5 million tons of wheat will be harvested from both irrigated and rainfed fields by the end of the crop year which will totally meet the domestic needs.

Wheat production in Iran increased by six percent in 2023, putting the Islamic Republic in 14th place among the world’s top producers of the strategic grain, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s World Agricultural Production report.

Based on the said report, Iranian farmers managed to produce 14 million tons of wheat in the 2023 crop year, 800,000 tons more than the figure for the previous year in which the total production stood at 13.2 million tons.

According to USDA, Iran was the world’s 13th largest wheat producer in 2022.

The department has also predicted that Iran will produce 14 million tons of wheat in 2024, which will not change compared to 2023.

The increase in Iran's wheat production during 2023 comes as the world's total wheat production this year has decreased by about seven million tons to reach 782 million tons.

According to this report, Iran, which is the 18th most populous country in the world, has produced more wheat than many countries including Brazil and Egypt.

EF/