Iraq
Iraq’s flour reserves are sufficient for more than a year and other food supplies can cover national demand for over five months, the country’s trade minister said.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s flour reserves are sufficient for more than a year and other food supplies can cover national demand for over five months, the country’s trade minister said.
Speaking to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), Trade Minister Atheer Daoud al-Ghurairi stated on Tuesday his ministry “succeeded in achieving food security through local production, as we have a flour reserve sufficient for more than a full year,” adding that reserves of other food items “cover more than five months.”
He noted that “work continues with the private sector to monitor markets and issue decisions through the Decree Order Committee No. 37,” which regulates and implements Iraq’s national import policy. The committee is responsible for setting controls that facilitate imports, protect the Iraqi economy from market dumping, prevent price instability, and support domestic products.
Ghurairi also highlighted his ministry’s publication of data through the Commodity Structure Guide for Imports, which offers traders and import beneficiaries a detailed overview of “the quantities, geographical distribution, and types” of imported goods, as well as “the volume of imports and how this information can be used to guide import decisions.”
He said the guide has “helped increase support for exporters and encouraged progress toward self-sufficiency,” noting that it includes data on exporting entities, issuing authorities, and other relevant information.
In April 2024, Iraq’s trade ministry launched a major initiative to domestically produce high-quality “zero-grade” white flour. The project has since succeeded in “covering about 40 percent of imported white flour,” according to the ministry, which aims to achieve full self-sufficiency in this category “within one to two years.”
Iraq has also harvested some 6.3 million tons of wheat in the 2024-2025 season harvest, achieving self-sufficiency for a third consecutive year.
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