ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government has approved 350 billion Iraqi dinars (around $267 million) in pending 2025 dues for farmers nationwide, with 58.6 billion dinars (around $45 million) earmarked for the Kurdistan Region, a senior official from Erbil's trade ministry said Wednesday.
"Of the released amount, some 83.12 billion dinars [around $64 million] remain with the Iraqi government as outstanding financial dues for the Kurdistan Region's farmers, which will be disbursed in upcoming batches," said Sarwar Kamal, deputy to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) trade minister, in remarks to Rudaw's Solin Mohammadamin.
Kamal further noted that some 20 billion dinars (around $15 million) will be allocated to Erbil, while around 21 billion (around $16 million) and 17 billion (around $13 million) will be disbursed to the Region's eastern Sulaimani and northern Duhok provinces, respectively.
Baghdad in mid-July announced the conclusion of wheat procurement in the Kurdistan Region after completing purchases under its capped 400,000-ton quota for the 2026 marketing season. Total wheat production in the Region exceeded one million tons.
Of that total, 292,000 tons produced under Iraq's national agricultural plan were bought at 700,000 dinars ($530) per ton, while more than 108,000 tons produced outside the plan were purchased at 500,000 dinars ($380) per ton.
Based on official prices, Baghdad owes nearly $197 million to Kurdistan Region farmers for this year's harvest, in addition to last year's dues.
Accordingly, private companies stepped up to purchase the remaining 2026 wheat harvest.
Nawzad Sheikh Kamil, director general of trade at the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Trade and Industry, said in late July that Khoshnaw Company is set to purchase up to 100,000 tons of wheat while Qaiwan Group will buy 75,000 tons.
"If wheat remains after the first phase, a second phase will be launched," he told Rudaw at the time, adding that the two companies have the capacity to purchase up to 250,000 tons in total and that the procurement period could be extended if needed.
Disputes between Erbil and Baghdad over budget transfers, oil exports, and agricultural coordination have repeatedly affected trade and procurement policies in recent years, prompting Kurdish officials to call for equal treatment of farmers in the Region under Iraq's national support programs, amid Iraq's aim to achieve domestic self-sufficiency in its wheat sector.
