Iraq provides Syria with 220,000 tons of wheat
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – In a gesture reflecting the close ties between Iraq and Syria, the Director General of Syria's General Organization for Grains, Hassan Othman, said that Iraq will transport 220,000 tons of wheat to the Syrian people as a 'gift.'
Othman added that the first shipment of the Iraqi wheat has already arrived in the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Trucks have started entering Syria through the Al-Qaim border crossing, with the first 39 trucks carrying wheat arriving in the city of Deir ez-Zor and now being accepted on site for distribution to other Syrian provinces, according to Othman.
In what is thought to be the first significant purchase since the regime changed at the end of 2024, Syria bought almost 100,000 tons of wheat in its most recent tender, which took place on March 25.
The spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, Mohammed Al-Khazai, revealed earlier in April that Iraq hit a wheat production surplus for the first time, with 6.4 million tons produced.
In July, the state company responsible for purchasing grain in Iraq announced that it bought 6.3 million tons, the most locally produced wheat ever recorded in its history.
The Iraqi Minister of Trade, Atheer Al-Ghurairy, said in March that Iraq has become self-sufficient and does not require the import of wheat to maintain its strategic stocks.
To meet its demands, Iraq has been importing wheat from the US, Canada, and Australia. But the increase in domestic production in recent years raises the possibility that Iraq will not need to import wheat as it previously did.
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