The Minister of Trade, Atheer Al-Ghurairy, announced that the Ministry has contracted to purchase 750,000 tons of wheat for the purpose of meeting the country’s need for the first months of next year.
A statement by the Ministry of Trade stated that Al-Ghurairi met today, Friday, with the Governor of Basra, Asaad Al-Eidani, and discussed with him what the commercial departments in the province offer, as well as the province’s support for building a large silo that would accommodate the energies of marketed wheat from farmers and be a strategic stockpile for the Ministry of Commerce in the province.
The statement indicated that the Minister of Trade arrived in Basra Governorate, met with the governor, and conducted a field tour in the southern ports to supervise in a field manner the operations of unloading ships loaded with wheat and rice within the items of the ration card.
During his visit to the Umm Qasr pier of the Ministry of Trade, Al-Ghurairy stressed that “this pier constitutes a vital facility of the Ministry of Commerce, and we seek to make the most of the unloading operations of wheat supplied from foreign origins.”
During his meeting with the technical and engineering staff at the Umm Qasr wharf, the Minister indicated that “the Ministry of Trade will develop a clear plan for the development of the wharf, whether through development and rehabilitation, which contributes to making this wharf one of the important facilities through which the Ministry of Trade seeks to serve the Iraqi economy and unload the supplied quantities to Iraq for wheat and rice, as well as materials for the ration card items within the food basket project, which we seek to have unloading operations through the southern ports.
The Minister supervised, according to the statement, the unloading of rice, which was prepared within the items of the ration card, and also supervised the unloading of a ship loaded with 50,000 tons of wheat, which arrived at the southern ports within the contracts of the Ministry of Trade.
Al-Ghurairy said, “The Ministry of Trade has contracted to purchase 750,000 tons of wheat material for the purpose of meeting the country’s need for the first months of next year until the start of the marketing season for the wheat crop, in addition to that it will also contract for other quantities of wheat material, while it is now developing a plan to supervise on the marketing season of the wheat crop, in implementation of the Prime Minister’s directives, to make it a successful season in all directions, through the quantities marketed by farmers, or through helping farmers and delivering their dues within a specified period.
The Minister of Trade added that the situation of the ration card is good, as well as the storage of wheat and the items of the food basket are good, and there is nothing to worry about in the process of securing foodstuffs for citizens in the next year, stressing that the Ministry of Trade faced the global food crisis and the high prices of grain and foodstuffs through technical measures and an administration that was able to keep Iraq away from the specter of harm to its citizens.”
Source: National Iraqi News Agency