Iran raises guaranteed purchase price for wheat

Iran has announced a 15% increase in the guaranteed purchase
price for domestically-grown wheat during the April-July harvest season.

Government spokesman Ali Bahadori tweeted on Thursday that
the Cabinet had approved a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad (MAJ)
to increase the purchase price to 150,000 rials ($0.3) per kilogram.

This year’s domestic purchase price for wheat is 7% higher
than the current average international price of $7.6027 per bushel. The move is
part of the government's plan to increase its domestic purchase of grains amid
a global crunch in markets, worsened by the ongoing war between Russia and
Ukraine, Tasnim reported.

MAJ and its subsidiary, the Government Trading Corporation
(GTC), expect Iran’s domestic wheat purchases to rise by 13% to 8.5 million
metric tons (mt) this year. Last year, the GTC bought 7.2 million mt of wheat
from domestic farmers under its guaranteed purchase program, while private
buyers purchased 0.3 million mt during the same period.

Iran’s total wheat output reached 13 million mt last year,
up from 10.1 million mt in 2021, according to figures by the United Nations
food agency FAO. Purchases started earlier this month with the beginning of the
harvest in wheat-growing provinces in south and southeastern Iran and will
continue until July, when farmers in west and northern Iran deliver their
crops.

Meanwhile, farmers represented by Iran’s National Foundation
of Wheat Growers had hoped for a 23% increase in the guaranteed purchase price
of wheat for this year’s harvest season.