SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi government said on Tuesday it had approved buying the whole local wheat harvest exclusively for the current season.
In a statement, the Iraqi cabinet said the price it will pay for the crop will be according to the global-index price, according to Reuters.
Tuesday’s announcement comes as Iraq takes urgent measures to secure strategic stocks of wheat and support a local food subsidies program in the light of recent Ukraine-Russia crisis and its impact on food security.
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.
On Monday, Iraq’s minister of trade said the country would allocate $100 million to urgently purchase wheat and to create a strategic reserve by importing three million tons of the grain.
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.
