April 24, 2012

Iran's 2012-13 wheat import down 32% on year

Due to higher carryover stocks from the current season, Iran's wheat import needs are expected to drop 32% on year to 1.7 million tonnes in the 2012/13 marketing year (April/March), the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

Iran has built ample stocks of wheat, the dominant cereal in the country - accounting for nearly 70% of total cereal production - in the early months of 2012, the FAO said in a country brief on Iran on its website.

Total cereal imports are forecast to remain high at 7.3 million tonnes, including corn, wheat and rice, it said.

Iran's 2012 wheat output is preliminarily forecast to fall below 2011 levels to 13.5 million tonnes, hit by erratic rainfall in the main wheat producing areas. That would still be about the average level of the previous five years, the Rome-based FAO said.

Iran reached self-sufficiency in producing wheat a few years ago and even started brief exports, but fell behind domestic consumption due to increasing demand and rain scarcity in certain parts of the country.