Financial Tribune - More than 440,000 tons of oilseeds are expected to be produced in Iran in the current fiscal year (started March 21) to register a 30% growth compared with last year�s output, an advisor to the agriculture minister said.

�We had initially predicted a record production of 500,000 tons for this year, but as the floods inundated most parts of the country, we will not be able to reach that target. We had 210,000 hectares of land under colza cultivation this year but the floods damaged the farms in Golestan, Khuzestan, Mazandaran and Lorestan provinces,� Alireza Mohajer was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

Heavy rains and floods swept across large parts of Iran after the onset of the new Iranian year on March 21, leaving a trail of destruction. The agriculture sector was hard hit, with damages estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.

�The northern Golestan Province was hit the hardest. Close to 15,000 hectares of colza farms were destroyed and output decreased on 40,000 to 50,000 hectares. Yet, favorable precipitation in other parts of the country made up for this loss,� he said.

Mohajer, who is also the director of the Agricultural Ministry's �National Oilseed Project�, said the government is planning to meet 70% of domestic demand for oilseeds from local production in a decade that started from late 2015.

�Oilseed production stood at close to 46,000 tons in the fiscal 2014-15. In the last fiscal year (2018-19), the figure reached 340,000 tons to register a seven-fold increase,� he added.

Mohajer noted that due to the reimposition of US sanctions on Iran, plans are underway to achieve 70% of the goal.

"Therefore, a target for a leap production of 700,000 tons of oilseeds has been set for next year,� he said.