A member of the board of directors of the Iran Chamber of Commerce said that the main cause of disruptions in Iran’s trade in agricultural products is not war and sanctions, but mismanagement and lack of planning by the government.

Ali Rzvānīzadeh said that the absence of planning in the cropping pattern, the failure to implement contract farming, unscientific predictions in the government’s guaranteed purchase of wheat, and widespread waste of products have harmed the agriculture sector more than any external factor.

He referred to the government’s commitment to guarantee the purchase of 11 million tons of wheat from farmers and added that the budget the government has for the guaranteed purchase of wheat would only cover the purchase of 8.5 million tons.

The government’s inability to buy wheat from farmers and delays in payments are occurring while, according to an estimate by the FAO, Iran’s wheat production last year fell by 25% to 12.5 million tons.

Iran’s annual wheat consumption is 17 million tons.