Iranian Commerce Minister Masoud Mirkazemi has rejected recent reports that the country has imported wheat from the United States.
Western media reported Wednesday that Iran ordered over one million tons of wheat with an estimated value of $350 million over a several-week period.
“We purchase wheat from Canada and some European countries, but Iran has not had any direct wheat imports from the US,” Mehr news agency quoted Mirkazemi as saying.
Iran has announced plans to import one million tons of wheat per month in September, October and November in order to compensate for a drop in the country’s grain production.
US traders say that much of the wheat Iran imports from the Black Sea region lack high ‘feed’ quality. They have also raised concerns about the quality of European wheat.
Mirkazemi rejected the reports, saying the imported wheat was of high quality.
A devastating drought in Iran this year has led to a 20 percent decrease in the country’s wheat output compared with last year. Iranian wheat production is now at its lowest in six years.
