Iraq: Grain Hurt By Drought

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|6 May 2008

Iraq’s grain production will be severely hampered by drought in 2008/09 for all 18 provinces, according to the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS).

Total 2008/09 wheat production is expected to reach just 1.5 million metric tons (MMT), a 36% decline from the previous season’s 2.3 MMT production. The predominately rain-fed barley crop is expected to fall even further — by as much as 60% — with the 2008 crop forecast at 450,000 MT.

The government’s success in introducing new, higher-yielding rice varieties should enable Iraq’s rice production to remain stable despite the drought with 2008 production estimated at 410,000 MT.