Financial Tribune- The Agriculture Ministry has set a wheat production target of 12.6 million tons in the next Iranian year (March 2017-18), an official with the ministry said.

The target is part of the objectives set in the sixth five-year development plan (2017-22).

Since mid-September, more than 5.78 million hectares of land have gone under wheat cultivation, indicating a 2% decline compared with the similar period of last year.

This decrease pertains to irrigated lands,� Mehr News Agency quoted Esmaeil Esfandiarpour as saying. A record high of over 14 million tons of wheat were domestically produced this year, more than 11.76 million tons of which, worth over $4 billion, were purchased by the Government Trading Corporation from local farmers at guaranteed prices.

The five-year economic development plans are medium-term roadmaps designed by the government to help achieve sustainable growth, the strategies for which are outlined in its budget planning for the next five years. GTC is a state-owned company specialized in the purchase, import and distribution of essential foodstuff.