BAGHDAD, IRAQ — Iraq plans to purchase 750,000 tonnes of wheat from abroad in 2020, Reuters reported.
Hassanein al-Zubaidi, the new head of the Iraq Grain Board, told Reuters that the purchase is within its planning budget.
Zubaidi also told the news agency that the country had 1.2 million tonnes of wheat as strategic reserves, enough to last for three months.
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — It was a bumpy ride for the global grain industry in 2024.
An already unstable geopolitical situation worsened with military conflicts expanding in Ukraine and the Middle East. Transporting grain efficiently was a challenge, in part because of those wars. And several of the world’s largest agribusiness companies saw profits tumble in a suboptimal economic climate for global agriculture.
The establishment in both Europe and the United States saw a conservative backlash against their liberal policies, leading to political unrest in countries such as France and the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency after a four-year absence. The result will likely be a continued trend toward protectionist policies that will impact the global grain trade in the coming years as well a reduced emphasis on “green” environmental policies that had become prevalent during the past four years.
The following are World Grain’s top 10 stories for 2024.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — These are the 12 nations at which World Grain took an in-depth look through its monthly Country Focus series in 2024. Revisit the locations and the perspective they provide on global grain, flour and feed issues: