Archive | Agriculture

Iraq Business News brings you the latest news on developments and opportunities in Iraq agriculture.

Australian Oil-for-Food Case Dropped

By John Lee. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has today discontinued its proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Charles Stott and Michael Long for alleged breaches of their duties as officers of AWB Limited -- formerly the Australian Wheat Board -- in connection with the United Nations Oil for Food Programme in […]

Iraq Rejects all Rice Offers

By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq's grain board has rejected all offers in an international tender to buy at least 30,000 tonnes of rice on Friday. The tender closed on Sunday and offers had to remain valid until Thursday. According to traders, the lowest offer was $725 a tonne c&f free out (ciffo) for […]

NZ Meat Processor Exports to Iraq

By John Lee. New Zealand-based meat processor Alliance Group said it was developing meat export opportunities in Iraq. The cooperative has just completed its first full year of exporting directly to hotels, restaurants, and catering companies in Iraq, and its exports of Pure South brand lamb have increased by about 35 percent in the past […]

Iraq "Wants to Import Food from Azerbaijan"

By John Lee. APA reports that Iraq is interested in importing agricultural products from Azerbaijan. At the first meeting of Azerbaijan-Iraq Intergovernmental Commission, a representative of Iraq’s Agriculture Ministry said there is a need for citrus fruits, fish, meat and other products in Iraq. A senior advisor at Azerbaijan's Agriculture Ministry offered to export fruit, vegetable, […]

Agricultural Opportunities for US Businesses

A US-led business delegation comprising of a number of international companies visited Kurdistan this week to explore investment opportunities in the fast-growing region, with a focus on agriculture, food and water sectors. The delegation, led by Steven Lutes, the Director of the US-Iraq Business Initiative (USIBI) at the US Chamber of Commerce, met with the […]

17k Tons of Iraqi Dates Exported

By John Lee. Aswat al-Iraq reports that an estimated 17.000 tons of dates were exported last month to Asian countries, and the exports are still continuing. Before the Iran-Iraq war, about 500,000 tons of dates are typically exported annually, but damage to the date plantations resulted decreased this  figure. (Source: Aswat Al Iraq) (Dates image […]

Tags:

Iraqi Rice Planting Below Target

By John Lee. Oryza reports that Iraq’s rice planting, at around 80,000 hectares, is 24 percent below the Ministry of Agriculture target of 106,000 hectares. According to the USDA, Iraq is expected to produce about 180,000 tons of rice (milled basis) in 2013-14, and import around 1.4 million tons to meet domestic demand. Iraq imports about […]

Tags: , ,

New Report on Drought in Iraq

The United Nations’ Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has announced the launch of the Analysis Report “Integrated Drought Risk Management – National Framework for Iraq" produced by UNESCO’s Iraq Office under the Drought Risk Management (DRM) Project. During the previous months, UNESCO and UNAMI's Joint Analysis Unit assessed the information gathered and analyzed investigating […]

Record Wheat Crop, but Imports Still Needed

By John Schnittker, Chief Economist at Schnittker Associates, and former Ministry Advisor at the US Embassy in Baghdad. Iraq’s first tender to purchase wheat on the international market since mid-May 2013 reflects that despite a record wheat crop Iraq remains a major importer of wheat and flour products. Iraq’s 2013 wheat crop of nearly 4.0 […]

Wheat Falls As Iraq Shuns US Grain

According to Bloomberg, wheat fell the most in three weeks after Iraq and Egypt shunned U.S. grain in tenders yesterday, indicating ample global supplies. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, bought 60,000 metric tons from both Romania and Ukraine on Aug. 6, while Iraq purchased 150,000 tons of Australian and Canadian grain. “Wheat’s lower because we missed out on […]

MP Demands MoT Distribute Extra Rice

MP, Aziz al-Mayahi, of the Economy and Investment Parliamentary Committee is demanding that the Ministry of Trade accelerate distribution of the second portion of rice scheduled for the Holy month of Ramadan. ''The Minister of Trade Khairallah Hassan Babekir promised to distribute an extra portion of rice for people during Ramadan, while the first rice […]