Iraq Plans to Boost Wheat Planting

Iraq plans to plant one million hectares with wheat and “a very small amount" of barley in its 2022-2023 winter crop planting season, the ministry of water resources said in a Sunday statement. The Iraqi cabinet directed the trade ministry to import wheat to store for the future, the statement said.

Iraq, a major Middle East grain importer, has faced water shortages for several years. The ministry of water resources said on Friday that 2022 was the driest year Iraq has witnessed since 1930. Iraq harvested 625,000 hectares in the 2021-2022 season, according to the agriculture ministry.