Iran, which this year is set to overtake Egypt as the world's No 1 wheat importer, is expected to remain a big buyer of Australian wheat after overtaking Indonesia to become Australia's No 1 grain customer.
Traders said on Wednesday Iran would continue to seek wheat from Australia, the world's No 4 wheat exporter, for blending with lower quality grain from eastern Europe, though the pace of sales would slow as supplies from the last harvest, completed in February, dwindled.
They expect sales to pick up later in the year and into 2010 after the harvest of Australia's next wheat crop now being planted. "The people we talk to that keep an eye on that market are of the view that we will see a reasonable import programme from Iran again next year," said Mick Cattanach, chief executive of Australian grain trading firm Emerald Group.
"It might not be as big as the year we've just had but it will still be a big one." Iran became self-sufficient in wheat in 2004 but cold winter weather last year followed by drought has hit agricultural production in the country, which has a population of 70 million and is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates Iran will import about 8.5 million tonnes of wheat in the year ended June. In 2007/08 Iran imported only 200,000 tonnes.
In the four months to the end of March, the Middle East nation bought 1.14 million tonnes of Australian wheat, or about 22 percent of Australia's bulk wheat.