TEHRAN - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has predicted a 13.5-percent rise in Iran’s production of cereals in 2022, which is expected to reach 20.3 million tons.
In a reported titled ‘Crop Prospects and Food Situation,’ released on Friday, FAO provided a forward-looking analysis of the food situation by geographic region, focusing on the cereal production outlook, market situation and food security conditions.
In parts of the report, the agency examined the conditions of grain production in Iran and said, “Although crops in center-southern regions of Iran suffered from drier-than-average conditions, rainfall in the rest of the country was generally favorable and total cereal production is estimated at 20.3 million tons.”
According to the report, Iran’s wheat production is forecast to reach 13 million tons, in what would be a 25-percent increase compared to the previous year’s 10.4 million tons.
FAO estimated that Iran’s grain reserves stood at 11.5 million tons at the end of 2021, and that the figure would increase by 1.3 million tons by the end of the current year.
The production of rice (paddy) is also estimated to decrease by 100 thousand tons to reach 3 million tons.
The report, which is published four times a year, comes at a time when the world is grappling with a food security crisis amid a military confrontation against two of the world’s major grain producers, Russia and Ukraine.

Iran Wheat Imports Increse Despite Rising

Iran increased it imports of wheat in the quarter to late June despite forecasts showing that the country will benefit from higher domestic output this year.
A Saturday report by the ISNA news agency showed that Iranian imports of wheat in the three months to June 21 had reached a total of 1.733 million metric tons (mt).
Iran spent over $718 million on wheat imports in the June quarter, said the report, adding that the figure had accounted for 16% of the total resources the country had spent on the imports of basic goods, including grains and medicine, over the period.
That comes as total wheat imports into Iran over the calendar year to late March had amounted to 7 million mt as the government spent $2.5 billion or 13% of the funds dedicated to basic goods imports on wheat shipments.
The surge in wheat imports into Iran comes despite forecasts suggesting there will be a major increase in domestic production of wheat in the country this year.