Iran seeking new wheat suppliers

Government now looking at suppliers from the Caspian region.

{reg}[PAID={"id":"12,13,14","title":"The content you tried to access is only available to paid subscribers.","link":"1"}]Iran is seeking fresh wheat deals with Kazakhstan and other Caspian Sea suppliers after buying over 1 million tons in recent weeks from global markets as Tehran seeks to bolster strategic stocks after recent elections, reports World Bulletin.

Iran is forecast to need at least 5 million tonnes of imports in the season starting in summer, amid market talk its harvest this year was not as good as hoped.

"There is a new government in place and they have given the green light to buy wheat. It is also Ramadan, so they need to keeping boosting stocks," a Middle East based trade source said.

Sources say the Islamic Republic is picking up cargoes from suppliers in Kazakhstan and Russia and shipping them over the Caspian Sea.

Rafail Galyamov, board chairman of Ak Bidai joint stock company which runs the grain terminal in the Caspian Sea port of Aktau in western Kazakhstan, said it was ramping up exports to Iran.

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani, who takes office next month, will need to get the economy back on track after sanctions have slashed oil revenues.

Dealers said the wheat buying had partly been made possible by the use of oil revenues in Irans bank accounts in several countries which had been frozen by sanctions. These funds, however, can be used for humanitarian and food purchases.

Trade sources say in recent weeks Iran has bought at least 1.25 million tonnes of wheat in a series of purchases including from Russian and Black Sea origins. /reg}