Shafaq News/The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday said it has completed the wheat procurement program for 2024, acquiring nearly 700,000 tons from farmers across the region.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry said the total harvest fell slightly short of the initial target of 700,000 tons due to quality standards set by the federal government. However, the KRG successfully procured 685,974.94 tons, valued at 590 billion Iraqi dinars ($406 million).
"The remaining quantities that were not collected did not meet the qualifications set by the Federal Ministry of Trade," the ministry said in a statement.
Farmers have already received 74.5 billion dinars ($51 million), with the remaining 515 billion dinars expected to be distributed soon after completing administrative procedures.
Iraq's federal government said it has procured nearly 6.3 tons of wheat in the current season.
Iraq was self-sufficient in wheat during the three years before the war in Ukraine, with production of 4.7 million tons in 2019, 6.2 million tons in 2020, and about 4.2 million tons in 2021.
However, factors such as water scarcity and desertification led to a decrease in the local production of wheat, which reached about three million tons last season, prompting the Iraqi government to import wheat to cover the shortfall.
The lack of rain in the winter season constitutes the most significant challenge to the production of crops in Iraq, including wheat, rice, and barley.