TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of Iran’s Government Trading Company (GTC) said the country’s wheat production in the next Iranian calendar year (March 2016-March 2017) will surpass 10 million tons.

Ali Qanbari predicted that purchase of wheat from Iranian farmers will hit 10 million metric tons in the 12-month period.

“We will have no wheat imports next year and given satisfactory precipitations in the month of fall, we can approach the point of self-sufficiency,” he told the Tasnim News Agency.

Iran’s agriculture officials foresee no major wheat imports in the coming year because better rainfall so far this year is expected to boost domestic harvest.

The government bought more than 8 million metric tons of wheat from local farmers in the current crop season, thanks to decent harvest.

Qanbari said GTC plans to export 300,000 metric tons of pasta-making durum wheat this year.

European traders have said Iran’s state grains agency offered to barter locally-produced durum wheat with 250,000 tons of milling wheat.

For the current crop season, Iran needed 9 million metric tons of bread-making wheat and another 2 million metric tons for pasta making, Qanbari said in July.

Earlier this year, the government imposed import duties on wheat and barley to protect local farmers from cheap imports and to prevent imported grain being re-sold to the government at higher prices.

By Tasnim News Agency