Tehran – Iran has moved to the brink of wheat self-sufficiency, and there is no cause for concern over bread supply this year, a senior agriculture official announced.

 

Majid Anjafi, Deputy Minister for Crop Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that given the area under cultivation and the progress of the harvest, the country is approaching the threshold of wheat self-sufficiency, with no worries about securing grain for bakeries.

 

According to planned targets, some 2.25 million hectares of irrigated land and 4.6 million hectares of rain-fed land have been planted this year, he added.

 

“Harvesting has begun in southern provinces, with approximately 700,000 tons of wheat already delivered to state purchasing centers. Field conditions are reported as highly favorable.”

 

Anjafi projects that 10 million tons of wheat will be delivered to purchasing centers, pushing total domestic output to between 13.5 and 14 million tons.

 

With national bakeries requiring around 12 million tons annually, this year's production is expected to cover nearly all domestic demand, the deputy minister said.