Agriculture minister refutes 90% water consumption claims
$3b trade balance improvement reported
Iran’s agriculture minister said the sector consumes far less water than widely claimed and has managed to boost output and exports despite persistent drought and resource shortages.
Gholamreza Nouri-Qezeljeh told state TV on Thursday that actual water consumption in agriculture is about 45 billion cubic meters, not the 80% to 90% of national water resources often cited, ISNA reported.
“The claim that 80 to 90 percent of water resources are used in agriculture does not match reality,” he said, adding that with industrial growth, rising population and greater demand for drinking and industrial water, agriculture’s share had dropped significantly.
Under the Seventh Development Plan, the Energy Ministry is required to allocate about 77 billion cubic meters of water annually to agriculture, but this year’s supply has not even reached 42–43 bcm, he said. Many regions have faced water shortages and a 60% cut in irrigation, one of the main reasons for lower wheat production.
Persistent drought over the past five years has drastically reduced surface and groundwater levels, putting Iran in an extremely critical water situation. According to studies and official statistics spanning six decades, this is the worst water year on record due to the absence of effective rainfall.
$3b trade balance improvement
The minister also said that despite challenges, agriculture shifted from a 2.4% contraction to 3.2% growth last year, equal to a 5–6 percentage point swing, according to the Statistical Center of Iran. Exports rose about 32% in value while imports dropped 6%, improving the agricultural trade balance by some $3 billion to minus $8 billion, from minus $11 billion, he said. In the first four months of the calendar year (began on March 20, 2025), exports grew a further 11%, keeping agriculture a leading non-oil export sector.
Production gains
According to the minister, sugar output rose 28% last year, while tropical fruit production jumped 54%, results the ministry said showed self-sufficiency targets in these products were achievable.
Nouri-Qezeljeh put the agriculture sector’s share of GDP at about 6 percent, but said the real figure was above 15% when related upstream and downstream activities were included, contributing to a one-percentage-point boost to the overall economy.
He said that despite shortages of water, energy and electricity, Iranian farmers and producers had managed to maintain growth in production and exports by relying on efficiency, modern knowledge and indigenous expertise.