Continued Protests by Wheat Farmers Over Purchase Prices; Ministry of Agriculture Calls for More Financial Resources

While the Ministry of Agriculture insists on its decision from May 7 to buy each kilogram of wheat at a price of 15,000 tomans, farmers are still demanding an increase in the purchase price. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture is calling for more financial resources to raise the purchase price. Ataollah Hashemi, head of the National Wheat Farmers Foundation, stated on Saturday, June 3, that farmers are strongly protesting the delay in adjusting the wheat price and the remarks of some officials claiming that the guaranteed purchase price of wheat is appropriate. It is likely that a decision regarding the wheat price will be made again on Tuesday, June 6. According to him, Ebrahim Raisi has asked the Ministry of Agriculture to agree to the farmers' request and purchase wheat at 17,000 tomans per kilogram instead of 15,000 tomans. However, Mohammad Aghamiri, the caretaker of the Ministry of Agriculture, says that the allocated credits for guaranteed wheat purchases are even less than its current rate, and the government has considered the previous rate of 13,000 tomans in determining the amount of credits. The guaranteed purchase price of wheat will only increase to 17,000 tomans if new financial resources are provided to the Ministry of Agriculture. The head of the Program and Budget Organization recently deemed the price of 15,000 tomans for wheat appropriate, stating that wheat is being purchased from farmers at a higher price than the import price. Davood Manzoor added that currently, the price of wheat that the government buys from farmers is 15,000 tomans, but this same wheat can be imported at a rate of 11,000 tomans. This means that wheat is being purchased from farmers at a price higher than the import price to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat, and claims that the purchase price of wheat in neighboring countries is higher than inside the country are more about creating a narrative than reality. The head of the Agriculture Commission in Parliament confirmed the requested price of the wheat farmers, stating that based on an analysis from all provinces regarding planting, maintenance, and harvesting, a reasonable price of 17,000 tomans per kilogram of wheat has been considered to keep farmers satisfied and motivated for production in the coming year. Mohammad Javad Askari expressed hope that with the help of the government and the pricing council, and timely payments to farmers, the area under cultivation would increase to achieve self-sufficiency in this strategic product. According to reports, before determining the guaranteed purchase price of wheat, the National Wheat Farmers Foundation had proposed a price of 20,000 tomans for each kilogram of wheat but had agreed to the Agriculture Commission's proposal for a price of 17,000 tomans per kilogram as well; however, the government stuck to its proposal. Wheat farmers have also announced that since Iraqis are purchasing Iranian wheat at over 25,000 tomans per kilogram, selling wheat to the government at 15,000 tomans will only lead to losses for them. Therefore, they will either sell their produced wheat to foreigners or use it as animal feed, forcing the government to import wheat.