Iraq declares self-sufficiency in wheat

The Iraqi Minister of Trade, Atheer Al-Ghurairy, revealed on Saturday that Iraq achieved self-sufficiency in wheat crops.

Al-Ghurairy’s remarks took place during his field visit to the western Iraqi province of Anbar to check the purchase procedure from farmers, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The surplus in Iraq’s wheat crop, which reached 1.5 million tons, is a result of better rainfall than anticipated and, more importantly, government funding, according to the report.

To stimulate the production of the essential grain amid often dry circumstances, the government gives farmers more than double the price on the global market.

The director of Iraq’s General Company for Grain Trade, Haider Nouri, revealed earlier that Iraq’s strategic reserves of wheat surpassed 5.5 million tons.

Nouri explained that this large stock of wheat is sufficient for one year to meet local demand, underscoring that flour prices will not rise with any global crisis.

Iraq was self-sufficient in wheat for three years before the conflict in Ukraine, producing 4.7 million tons in 2019, 6.2 million tons in 2020, and around 4.2 million tons in 2021.

However, water shortages and desertification reduced local wheat output, requiring the Iraqi government to import wheat to offset the gap.

Tags: Production, wheat, flour, crop, imports, Iraq, demand, self-sufficiency, price