TEHRAN -- The Iranian government bought some 10.1 million tons of wheat from domestic and foreign producers in a dry year, started on March 2000, which destructed much of the crop, the Managing Director of the Grains Organization Mohammad Me'marzadeh said here Monday.
He said some 5.6 million tons of the staple was purchased from Australia, Argentina, Canada, Kazakhstan and France, adding another 4.5 million tons were bought from Iranian producers.
The official put the average price of each tons of wheat, purchased from foreign countries, at $130. The government also bought each kilogram of wheat at Rls.875 from domestic producers.
He said the government would increase "guaranteed" purchase price of wheat in the next year.
Me'marzadeh said that the government paid some 6,000 billion rials in subsidies for wheat purchases in the current Iranian year. This figure will increase to 8,000 billion rials next year, he added.
Iran this summer experienced a terrible drought which wreaked havoc on its crop.
Many of its range lands and farms were nonexistent and a large number of the country's lakes and rivers were dried up.
The worst crunch was felt in southern, central as well as eastern parts where much of the strategic crop, i.e wheat, comes from.
According to UN statistics, the total loss in the country amounted to $3.5 billion.
A delegation of Pakistani traders were recently said to be leaving for Iran in an effort to sell up to 500,000 tons of wheat. In the past, Iran has usually relied on Western countries for its wheat imports, but it is said the price could be cheaper as importing wheat from Pakistan could mean lower transport costs.
Press reports even said Pakistan was facing a fierce competition from India which has proposed to sell wheat to Iran at far discounted prices.
(IRNA)