Iraqi food rations likely to decline

BAGHDAD, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Food rations in Iraq will likely decline due to the country's slumping grain produce and rising food prices worldwide, the Iraqi Trade Ministry says.

The Trade Ministry said in a statement that while $5 billion in government funding has been allocated for food imports, the cost of food on the international market would likely bring about significant food rationing, Azzaman, an Iraqi newspaper, reported.

The ministry said the typical wheat harvest in Iraq exceeds 2 million tons but that total falls short of the nearly 5 million tons deemed necessary for domestic uses.

More alarming is that last year's wheat crop in the Middle Eastern country fell to 1.5 million tons, while Iraqi rice crops fell from nearly 300,000 tons to 150,000 tons.

Azzaman said more than 1 million tons of rice is the minimum deemed necessary to support the needs of people in Iraq.