Iran’s Wheat Imports

Iran will import 1.7 million tons of wheat in in the current Iranian calendar year (March 2012/March 2013), the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today. Wheat is the dominant cereal in the country, accounting for nearly 70 percent of total cereal production. Total cereal imports are forecast to remain high at 7.3 million tons, including maize, wheat and rice, the FAO report said.

Last March, the Iranian government bought 2.5 to 3 million tons of bread wheat on international markets, as private Iranian flourmills found they could not purchase in the face of sanctions. Iran’s state feed agency is also tendering to buy corn and soybean meal needed to feed the country’s livestock herds.

Iran's 2012 wheat output is preliminarily forecast to be 13.5 million tons.

Source: TradeArabia/Reuters, 21 April 2012