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Threat to wheat cultivation in the shadow of barley price surge due to incomplete liberalization
Said by Mr. Mohammad Jafari, Secretary of the Iran Grains Union
Incomplete currency liberalization, along with the continuation of preferential exchange rates for wheat, could have consequences for the cropping pattern.
Wheat and barley are substitute commodities in the farmers’ crop basket. Given that the price of imported barley has reached about 50,000 Tomans in line with the new exchange rate, the price of domestic barley will also increase.
In such circumstances, if the guaranteed price of wheat is not revised, farmers may move towards barley cultivation, and this may reduce the production of wheat as a strategic commodity and threaten food security. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture-Jihad is expected to review the wheat pricing.
