Financial Tribune

The announcement was made by Alireza Mohajer, director of Agriculture Ministry’s “National Oilseed Project”.

The figure is estimated to reach 320,000 tons by the end of the harvest season, exceeding the previous estimate of 300,000, Young Journalists Club reported.

The Iranian government’s approach to control the local market for strategic crops is to purchase the crops from farmers in bulk, store in reserves and then distribute them throughout the year.

The increase in colza purchase this year points to a rise in the production of the oilseed.

Of all the vegetable oils consumed in Iran, 95% are extracted from soybean, sunflowers and palm. The Agriculture Ministry plans to achieve 70% self-sufficiency in oilseed production within the next 10 years to curb the import of oilseeds and vegetable oil.

Per capita vegetable oil consumption in Iran is about 18-19 kilograms a year while the global average is at 12 kilograms.