Tehran gears up to fill Ukraine's void in the Iraqi food market, Iranian official says

Shafaq News/ A board member of the joint Iraqi-Iranian trade chamber, Hamed Husayni, on Sunday said that Iran can fill the gap Ukraine has left in the Iraqi market following the military developments in the European country.

In a statement to Fars News, Husayni said, "Ukraine had a huge share of the Iraqi market with foodstuff and minerals being a major part of its imports to Iraq."

Husayni said that Turkey and Iran can step to fill the void of Ukraine that supplies more than 600 million persons worldwide with food and boasts the world's eighth-largest mineral reserves.

"Properly planned, Iran can swiftly meet the demands of the Iraqi market and gain a huge share of this market," he said.

The war in Ukraine, one of the world's major wheat-producing regions, has led to a massive rise in wheat prices, leaving Iraq facing a multibillion-dollar food import bill.

At a time when the Iraqi government is beset by political deadlock, the additional cost underlines the country's fragile food system, with millions of its poorest people depending on government food handouts, including wheat for flour.

Experts warn the whole system could soon collapse given uncertain oil markets and Iraq's rising population.

Ukraine and Russia make up about 20 percent of global wheat production and the current situation has created a fierce international competition to secure supply from the Black Sea region.

For some countries, particularly in the Middle East, this could drive millions of people into food poverty. In Iraq, which has one of the largest government-run food programs in the world, it could add up to $3 billion to its bill this year, portending the perilous vulnerability of the country's food supply.