Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 29
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran owes its recent GDP growth to production of 14.5 million tons of wheat during the current fiscal year (started March 20, 2016), Hassan Abbasi Maroufan, deputy head of the Government Trading Corporation (GTC), said.
About half of the agriculture sector’s 5.4 percent economic growth this year accounts for wheat production, Maroufan said, IRNA news agency reported Dec. 29.
Iran's government purchased over 11 million tons of wheat, worth 147.5 trillion rials (each USD makes 32,376 rials) from farmers in the current fiscal year, he said, adding that the Islamic Republic has reached self-sufficiency in wheat production.
Abbasi Maroufan further said that Tehran is ready to export 3 million tons of surplus wheat.
Iran plans to export its surplus wheat to Iraq and Afghanistan in flour form. Almost 7.5 million tons of wheat is used by bakeries in Iran and the country’s food industry also needs 2.5 million tons of wheat every year.
Along with the amount of wheat considered as part of "strategic reserve", Iran needs over 13 million tons of wheat annually.
It should be noted that Iran’s GDP growth reached 7.4 percent during the first half of current fiscal year (March 20-Sept. 21), according to the Iranian Central Bank, 2 percent more compared to the country’s GDP growth in spring.