Iran’s grain production to reach 20.1 million tons in 2024

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has forecast a further increase in Iran’s grain production this year amid efforts by the country’s government to rely more on domestic agriculture rather than imports to meet the country’s basic needs.

Figures in the FAO’s biennial Food Outlook report published on Monday on developments affecting global food and feed markets showed that Iran’s cereal production is expected to reach 20.1 million metric tons in 2024.

In 2023, Iran was the 10th largest cereal producer in Asia with an output of 19.8 million metric tons. The country relied on imports to meet its cereal requirements of 14.9 million tons.

According to an FAO report, Iran’s wheat production will reach 13.5 million tons this year, which is at the same level as last year.

The country’s rice production is expected to increase by 18% to 2.6 million tons in 2024, the figures show.

Iran has introduced policies to boost the country’s agricultural production to prevent any shortage of staple foods that could be caused by US sanctions targeting its foreign trade.

Iran has the third-largest grain reserves among Asian countries, according to the FAO. Only China and India have larger grain reserves than Iran. China’s reserves total 414 million tons, while India has 65 million tons. In the current year, Iran’s cereal stocks are 11.8 million tons. Of these, wheat stocks account for 8.8 million tons.

In addition, FAO forecasts that Iran’s wheat production in the current crop year will reach 13.5 million tons. Iran is the fifth largest wheat producer in Asia after China, India, Pakistan and Turkey.

In addition, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture’s wheat project said that Iran’s wheat production is expected to reach 13.5 million tons in the current crop year (September 2023-2024).

Sohrab Sohrabi said the government purchased 10.4 million tons of wheat from farmers in the previous year, while the figure is expected to reach 10.5 million tons in the current year.

The country’s annual wheat demand is 12 million tons, the official said, considering the current production trend, Iran will become self-sufficient in wheat production in the next few years.

The Iranian government buys wheat, which is considered a staple food in Iran, every harvest year to increase its stockpile and eventually supply the market.

A recent FAO report said Iran produced more than 21 million tons of cereals in the 2023 harvest year and is the fourth largest cereal stockpile in Asia.

In the report, dubbed “Food and Situation Outlook,” FAO estimated the total cereals produced in Iran in 2023 at 21.1 million tons, up more than two percent from a year earlier.

According to the report, Iran produced more than 13 million tons of wheat in 2022 and 13.5 million tons in 2023.

FAO estimated Iran’s total cereal stocks in the previous year at 12.1 million tons, noting that stocks increased by 100,000 tons compared to the previous year.

Back in May 2023, FAO published a report in which Iran ranked 43rd in the world in terms of food imports despite being the 17th most populous country in the world.

Statistics from the United Nations organization show that industrialized countries were the largest importers of food in the world.

According to the organization, Iran is now among the world’s leading agricultural producers.

China ranks first in the world in terms of grain reserves with 399 million tons of grain, followed by India with 64 million tons of grain and Turkey with 12.7 million tons, respectively.

Tags: crop forecast, Iran, wheat