BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26. The amount of wheat to be harvested in 5 provinces of Iran is expected to increase by 56 percent on average, during the current Iranian year (March 21, 2023 through March 19, 2024), compared to the last year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023), Trend reports citing Iranian Government Trading Corporation (GTC).
The mentioned five provinces are Zanjan, Mazandaran, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Yazd and South Khorasan provinces. A total of 544,000 tons of wheat are expected to be harvested from these provinces.
Despite a 4-percent decrease in the area under wheat in Zanjan Province for the current year, the wheat harvesting is expected to increase by 65 percent compared to the last Iranian year.
Thus, the amount of wheat to be harvested in the province will reach 350,000 tons in the current Iranian year, while the figure stood at 212,000 tons in the last year.
Meanwhile in Mazandaran Province, the wheat cultivation area increased by 7.5 percent compared to the last year, and the wheat harvesting is estimated to increase by 20 percent and reach 100,000 tons this year.
Also, wheat cultivation area in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province for the current Iranian year increased by 65 percent compared to the last year, and the amount of wheat to be harvested in the province this year is also expected to increase by 65 percent to 43,000 tons compared to 26,000 tons in last year.
At the same time, the area under wheat in Iran’s Yazd Province increased by 32 percent this year, and a result the wheat harvesting is expected to increase by 95 percent to 30,000 tons compared to 15,400 tons in the last Iranian year.
As for South Khorasan Province, there was no change in wheat cultivation area. However, it is expected that the wheat harvesting in the province this year will increase by 75 percent to 21,000 tons compared to 12,000 tons in the last year.
Overall, 13 million tons of wheat are forecasted to be harvested in Iran for the current Iranian year (March 21, 2023 through March 19, 2024). Of that amount, 8-8.5 million tons are estimated to be purchased by Iranian Government Trading Corporation (GTC).
Meanwhile, in the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023), about 11.5 million tons of wheat were harvested in the country, of which 7.5 million tons were purchased by the GTC.
Last year, the price of 1 kg of wheat was set up at 115,000 rials (about $2.74), while, 1 kg of wheat is set at 130,000 rials (about $3.09) for the current season.
However, considering that the set price is low, the Economic Council in Iran will determine the new price for wheat to be purchased from farmers in the next week (April 1 through April 8).
In total, wheat was planted on 5.95 million hectares of land in Iran in the current season. Of this, 3.96 million hectares accounted for dry-farming land, while 1.99 million hectares for ordinary agricultural land.
A number of products, including wheat, tea, rice, and other products are purchased from farmers by GTC under a guarantee in Iran.
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