The Iraqi trade ministry has offered to buy 650,000 tons of wheat from the Kurdistan Region’s farmers, an amount seen by Kurdish officials as only half of what the farmers have produced this harvest season.
The KRG delegation, headed by Agriculture Minster Begard Talabani, will visit Baghdad to push for a higher quota of wheat.
The Iraqi government subsidizes wheat production in the country, and the state-backed price is often double the price of what farmers would receive if they choose to sell their crops in the local market.
Baghdad frequently accuses Erbil of illegally importing wheat from neighboring countries, only to claim that they have produced the crops inside the Kurdistan Region. Iraq, therefore, does not purchase all the crops that come from the Region.
Erbil has repeatedly denied the accusations, arguing that exceptional rainy seasons in the last two years have resulted in more wheat production in the Kurdistan Region.
“The technical team of both sides will meet under the supervision of the ministers of agriculture of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with the aim of reaching an agreement,” Hiwa Ali, spokesperson for the Kurdish agriculture ministry, told Rudaw.
Talabani will also meet with a committee from the Iraqi Council of Ministers for the same purpose, according to Ali.
“They offered to buy 650,000 tons of wheat from us but we refused because they will receive all the wheat from other Iraqi provinces,” Ali said.
Last year, the Iraqi government received only 500,000 tons of wheat from the Kurdistan Region, paying 850,000 dinars per ton (about $580). Farmers were then forced to sell the rest for a much cheaper price.
Suggesting that the Iraqi government may reconsider its position, Ali said that Baghdad can base the agreement on the amount of wheat cultivated at the beginning of the season. This formula will calculate the amount to reach about 1.5 million tons.
In 202, drought and floods slashed wheat production in the Kurdistan Region, so the Iraqi government received all the wheat that the Region produced.
The KRG has not yet started storing wheat in any of its silos, but more than ten silos are ready to receive the wheat and are awaiting orders from the Iraqi government to begin the process, and also to determine how much wheat they should receive.
Due to its drier and hotter weather, Garmiyan administration in southern Sulaimani province has already started its harvest season, while other areas in the province, which benefit from cooler weather, are yet to begin harvest.
On Saturday, a number of farmers in Garmiyan staged a protest demanding Baghdad to open the silos to receive wheat in the area. They complained that the harvested wheat is at risk of contamination in the open air, especially in light of expected stormy weather later in the week.
Iraq will produce about seven million tons of wheat this year – the highest in the country’s history – according to the trade ministry.
It has set a price of 850,000 dinars for each ton of wheat that it buys from farmers.
