| TEHRAN, June 12 (UPI) -- Iranian officials say they are preparing to import several types of grains to compensate for losses caused by a serious drought across the country. SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS "We must purchase wheat from foreign suppliers this year since the country's wheat production will not meet the nation's demand", Commerce Minister Massoud Mir-Kazemi said. The Commerce Ministry may also need to import barley, corn and sugar, Iran's Press TV reported Thursday. "We have to import between 1 million and 1.2 million tons of rice", Mir-Kazemi added. "This is not something new." Iran became an exporter of wheat last year, but had to halt exports three months ago because of the drought and a lack of domestic availability of grains, Press TV said. Extreme weather and drought conditions are predicted to cause a major decline in Iran's grain supply this winter, experts say. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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