Page 60 - IRANRptJul22

Iran’s wheat harvest ‘expected to fall 20% this year amid persistent and severe drought’
Drought takes toll on Iranian pistachio exports
Iran to build 45 dams by 2025 as worries mount water shortages could hit tens of millions
[$1.81] per kilogram and sell it to people for 20,000 [$0.60] tomans per kilogram,” Yousefi was quoted as saying.
Hamid Kashani, chairman of Homeland Poultry Farmers’ Union, was reported as observing that egg producers were now sending hens to slaughterhouses as domestic market wholesale egg prices were 50% below production costs.
Iran, the Middle East’s top wheat producer, is expected to see production drop 20% this year to 12mn tonnes, which is 17% below the 5-year average, according to Gro Intelligence.
The country’s wheat-growing areas have experienced “severe” levels of drought since mid-2021, according to Gro’s Drought Index, weighted for wheat acres in Iran using a climate risk navigator.
On May 29, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji told the semi-official Iranian news agency the Young Journalists Club (YJC) that Iran and Russia have finalised an agreement for the supply of 5mn tonnes of wheat and grain to Tehran. The deal was one of several signed during a visit by a Russian economic and commercial delegation last week.
In March, Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said Iran intended to increase grain imports from Russia. He noted that in 2021, Iran, ranked first for the import of wheat from Russia, with 7mn tonnes of Russian grain shipped.
Drought has taken a toll on Iran’s pistachio nut exports. Reporting shipments worth $914.4mn in the last Persian calendar year (ended March 20), down 33% y/y, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) blamed water shortages that undermined cultivation and an increase in competition from other countries selling pistachios on to the international market, Mehr News Agency reported on April 26.
The US, with the introduction of modern agricultural technologies, is increasingly outdoing Iran in pistachio production. Nevertheless, Iranian pistachios remain cheaper than US consignments due to the low cost of labour and, overall, better growing conditions, in Iran.
In terms of export weight, Iran exported 135,322 tonnes of the nuts in the 2021/2022 Persian year to countries including China, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Turkey, IRICA was cited as saying. Of that total, 115,557 tonnes were unpeeled fresh pistachios, with a value of $696mn, it added. China was the biggest buyer of Iranian pistachios, buying $199mn worth. Next were India, Russia, Iraq and Kyrgyzstan, which imported $85mn, $53mn, $50mn and $45mn worth, respectively.
Officials in Iran, concerned that worsening droughts could eventually cause water shortages for tens of millions of people across the country, plan to build 45 dams by 2025, IRNA has reported.
The dams would reportedly expand the storage capacity of reservoirs in Iran by around 10bn cubic metres, taking the total capacity to more than 63bn cubic metres. The country of 84mn people has around 600 dams, including nearly 200 reservoirs.
The provinces of Hormuzgan on the Persian Gulf and Sistan and Baluchestan on the Sea of Oman are to host seven and five of the planned dams, respectively, the news service report said.
Iran’s Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian said last week that around 300 large towns and cities across Iran were facing water tension issues.
The minister added that the government would introduce grants and loans to encourage the establishment of efficient irrigation systems in the agricultural sector, responsible for more than 80% of water consumption in the country. Officials have previously come under fire for permitting water 'thirsty' crops,
60 IRAN Country Report July 2022 www.intellinews.com