Iran Buys U.S. Wheat First Time In 27 Years

August 22, 2008 RTTNews Nasdaq
Iran has decided to buy wheat from the United States after 27 years of apartheid, amidst continuing standoff between the two countries over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, media reports said.The reports said Iran has bought more than one million tons of hard red winter wheat worth $350 million directly from the U.S., which accounted for more than 3% to 4% of U.S. wheat exports for the 2008-09 marketing year beginning June 1.U.S. administration sanctions don't prohibit American agricultural exporters from doing business with Iran, which has been forced to turn to Washington after droughts slashed its domestic production potential by one-third this year.Tehran is expected to produce 10 million tons of wheat this year, down from 15 million tons in 2007-08, and import a total of 4.5 million tons, up from 200,000 tons last year.The country has been a major wheat importer since 2001-02, when it booked more than 5.3 million tons from sources including Australia, Canada, the E.U. and Argentina. However, exportable supplies are short in those countries, while the U.S. winter wheat harvest is nearly complete. Production of U.S. HRW wheat, used to make bread, was up this year at 1.055 billion bushels, compared to 962 million bushels last year.