Farmers have stockpiled three million tonnes of wheat

Deputy Minister of Agriculture: Farmers have
stockpiled 3 million tonnes of wheat due to inadequate purchase prices in the
past crop year.

Abbas Keshavarz in an executive interview with Radio
and TV correspondent added: in the past year, 14 million tonnes of wheat was
produced and it was one of the most suitable years of production. However the
guaranteed purchase conditions prevented the reluctant farmers from selling
their products, and 3 million tonnes of wheat remain in storage.

“These farmers are awaiting the new year to sell their
crops at a reasonable price,” He said.

Keshavarz noted: For the coming year the weather
forecast for autumn and winter will be favourable for the country and it is
expected to produce more than 14 million tonnes of wheat this year.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture noted: of course wheat
will be fully marketed if the purchase price is economical to wheat producers.

Referring to discussions over the last few months
about the scale of wheat blight Keshavarz said: the magnitude of wheat blight
has been exaggerated, and the 10% blight is not approved by the Ministry of
Agriculture.