Shafaq News- Kirkuk/ Nineveh
Iraq's General Company for Grain Trade launched the wheat marketingseason in Kirkuk province on Monday, while silos in Nineveh remain closedpending authorization codes from Baghdad, officials told Shafaq News.
Kirkuk finished second nationally in wheat production last season,according to company director general Haider al-Karawi.
The Iraqi Cabinet has fixed the purchase price at 700,000 Iraqi dinars($530) per ton for wheat grown within the approved agricultural plan, and500,000 dinars ($380) per ton for output outside it. Wheat produced outside theplan will not be received until the Agriculture Ministry completes its ownprocedures, al-Karawi said.
Outstanding payments to farmers across Iraq stand at approximately 1.54trillion dinars (around $1.17 billion), with disbursement contingent on theFinance Ministry releasing the necessary allocations. Oversight and mediarepresentatives warned Monday that sustained payment delays risk underminingfarmers' capacity to finance future planting seasons. “Iraq has imported nowheat since 2023, relying entirely on domestic production,” al-Karawi added.
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In Nineveh, Deputy Governor Ghazwan al-Dawoudi said the province has setup a dedicated harvest and marketing operations room, but silos have yet toopen because the Trade Ministry has not issued the required authorization code. Barley harvesting is already underway; wheat harvesting in rainfed areas isexpected to begin within days.
The province's intake capacity is set at 100,000 tons, withgovernment-subsidized quantities calculated at 900 kilograms per dunam formodern irrigation, 750 kilograms for gravity-fed systems, and 300 kilograms forrainfed land. Fuel allocations for registered agricultural machinery are inplace, with Nineveh coordinating with the oil products distribution company toensure supply through the harvest period.
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