Iraq bought 3.1 million tons of local wheat so far in the 2017 season, which is expected to end mid-August, an agriculture ministry official told Reuters.
The country is expected to reach its production target of 3.65 million tons of wheat this year, spokesman Hamid al-Nayif said.
"Some provinces have still not marketed their wheat like Kirkuk and Zomar and Rubaya in Mosul and Kurdish regions like Erbil," he said.
"We are optimistic that we will reach our target of 3.65 million tons."
Iraq needs an annual wheat supply between 4.5 million and 5 million tons, implying an import gap of around one million tons for the year 2017.
Iraq's Trade Ministry is responsible for procuring strategic commodities, including wheat, for the country's ration program.
The rationing program, created in 1991 to combat U.N. economic sanctions, includes flour, cooking oil, rice, sugar and baby milk formula.
Impoverished Iraqis continue to depend on the system, which has become corrupt and wasteful.
The ministry has been struggling to import grains for its food subsidy program this year after introducing new payment and quality terms that kept traders away from its international tenders.
Reuters
21 July
