September 27-2013
The new Rohani Administration has raised the price it pays farmers for wheat by almost a third, a response to critics who said the Ahmadi-nejad Administration was paying too little and only encouraging farmers to sneak their grain into Iraq for sale.
The guaranteed purchase price of wheat from Iranian farmers was increased from 8,000 rials to 10,500 rials per kilogram, Iranian government spokesman Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht said.
That is a 31 percent increase and brings the price to about 35 cents a kilo, based on the latest free market price for the rial.
The State Commerce Company imports wheat at $360 to $370 per ton or 36 cents to 37 cents per kilogram.
Iran imported 6.5 million tons of wheat worth $2.5 billion during the last Persian year. Imports in the first four months of this year were down to 963,000 tons.
The country projects production of 12 million tons of wheat by the end of the current Persian year, Deputy Agriculture Minister Nasser Tavakkoli said last Tuesday.
