Shafaq News- Kirkuk/ Nineveh
Iraq's General Company for Grain Trade launched the wheat marketing season in Kirkuk province on Monday, while silos in Nineveh remain closed pending 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, and 500,000 dinars ($380) per ton for output outside it. Wheat produced outside the plan will not be received until the Agriculture Ministry completes its own procedures, al-Karawi said.
Outstanding payments to farmers across Iraq stand at approximately 1.54 trillion dinars (around $1.17 billion), with disbursement contingent on the Finance Ministry releasing the necessary allocations. Oversight and media representatives warned Monday that sustained payment delays risk undermining farmers' capacity to finance future planting seasons. “Iraq has imported no wheat since 2023, relying entirely on domestic production,” al-Karawi added.
Read more: Iraq's farmers fed the state. Now they're waiting to be paid.
In Nineveh, Deputy Governor Ghazwan al-Dawoudi said the province has set up a dedicated harvest and marketing operations room, but silos have yet to open because the Trade Ministry has not issued the required authorization code. Barley harvesting is already underway; wheat harvesting in rainfed areas is expected to begin within days.
The province's intake capacity is set at 100,000 tons, with government-subsidized quantities calculated at 900 kilograms per dunam for modern irrigation, 750 kilograms for gravity-fed systems, and 300 kilograms for rainfed land. Fuel allocations for registered agricultural machinery are in place, with Nineveh coordinating with the oil products distribution company to ensure supply through the harvest period.