SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq will create a strategic reserve by importing three million tons of wheat, the country’s trade minister said, as food prices are rising due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Minister Alaa al-Jabouri said the Iraqi government would allocate $100 million to urgently purchase wheat, according to Reuters.
“The ministry has a plan to achieve food security for citizens and to address the global rise in food prices due to the recent crisis between Russia and Ukraine,” he said in a statement on Monday.
Iraq is a major Middle East grain importer and needs between 4.5 million and 5 million tons of wheat a year to supply its massive food rationing programme.
The country said it has taken urgent measures to secure strategic stocks of wheat and support a local food subsidies program, Reuters reported.
Latest steps include increasing the price for procuring wheat from local farmers to 725,000 dinars ($497.08) per ton for the upcoming marketing season, versus up to 560,000 dinars in the previous season.
Russia and Ukraine export about a quarter of the world’s wheat and half of its sunflower products, like seeds and oil, according to BBC. Ukraine also sells a lot of corn globally.
The head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, has warned the conflict in Ukraine could send global food prices soaring.
“Just when you think hell on earth can’t get any worse, it does,” he told BBC.
