Source: APKinform (Ukraine)
A high wheat harvest in Iraq has led to a surplus of 1.5 million tons over domestic demand, according to Reuters calculations, leaving the country’s government with a loss of $458.37 million after payments to farmers under a government subsidy program.
Local farmers point out that, in addition to the unexpectedly good rainfall, the high harvest is mainly due to government subsidies, as domestic grain purchases are more than twice as high as world market prices. In particular, grain for the state reserves is being bought at a price of 850,000 Iraqi dinars (about 649.35 US dollars) per ton and sold to the domestic market for 450,000 Iraqi dinars.
In return, government officials say that “the high payments do not represent a loss as the grain remains in the country”.
It should be noted that Iraq buys between 4.5 and 5 million tons of locally produced wheat annually for state reserves.