March 12, 2012

Iran's wheat import demand on the rise

Although US sanctions against Iran do not include agricultural companies and products, paying for the purchases through financial institutions may be difficult, since dealings with Iran's Central Bank are under US and EU sanctions over Iran's nuclear disputes.

Drier-than normal seasons appear to have affected Iran's wheat production. In February, Iran also bought close to 2.5 million tonnes of wheat from Russia, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Australia.

In 2004, Iran announced for the first time that it had become self-sufficient in wheat. For the following two years, Iran did not need to import any wheat to meet its needs.

In 2008, Iran resumed buying US wheat for the first time in 27 years. In 2009, Iran bought 900,000 tonnes of wheat from the US for US$365 million.