Iran cuts wheat imports to zero

Qazvin, Oct 22, IRNA – Given the Iranian government's efforts and measures over the past few years, the country no longer needs to import wheat, and has reduced its imports of the product to zero, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad. In 2011, more than $2.6 billion of wheat were imported to the country, but with the planning made and enhanced efficiency of production, the figure has now been reduced to zero, Esmaeil Esfandiari said, speaking during a meeting in the northern province of Qazvin. Over 5.8 hectares of agricultural lands will be used for cultivating wheat in the current agricultural year, the official said, noting that nearly 2 million hectares of the lands will be irrigated while the other 3.8 million hectares will be rain-fed. He said that self-sufficiency in producing wheat has been largely due to using technological methods and seed improvement over the past five years.