U.S. wheat loaded for shipment to Iraq

GALVESTON, Texas, April 3 (UPI) -- About 28,000 metric tons of hard red winter wheat was loaded aboard a freighter at the Port of Galveston Thursday as part of the U.S. commitment to provide $300 million in food assistance to the Iraqi people.

At a dockside news conference, U.S. officials said the shipment would feed 4.5 million Iraqis for one month but it was only a portion of the 610,000 metric tons of food the United States will provide.

"This ship carries the unshakable commitment of the United States of America to liberation of Iraq, the freedom of its people, and the reconstruction of the country," said Fred Schieck, deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The wheat was loaded on the M/V Free Atlas, a bulk carrier bound for the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. Another 28,500 metric tons were loaded earlier on the M/V Yellow Rose, which departed Tuesday for Iraq.

The U.S. government is also providing another $260 million to the U.N. World Food Program for food distribution and logistical support.

The wheat comes from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, an emergency reserve administered under the authority of the secretary of agriculture. On March 20, the Bush administration released 200,000 metric tons of wheat from the trust, with another 400,000 tons to be made available as needed.

"When milled, today's shipment of 28,000 tons of hard red winter wheat from the farms of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas will provide every man, woman, and child in Iraq with almost one pound of flour," said Jim Butler, a deputy U.S. agriculture undersecretary.

"This shipment is only the beginning. Working hand-in-hand with other government agencies, the World Food Program and private voluntary organizations, we will work to make sure food reaches the people who need it most."

In recent months, USAID had worked with other U.S. agencies in preparing for possible humanitarian emergencies by pre-positioning stockpiles of emergency supplies and making contingency plans for reconstruction activities, officials said.