ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government has sent a second installment of payments owed to wheat farmers in the Kurdistan Region, a senior official from Erbil’s trade ministry told Rudaw, as Baghdad is set to receive 400,000 tons of wheat from the Region’s four provinces.
Nawzad Sheikh Kamil, Director General of Trade at the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), announced on Monday that, “Baghdad has transferred another 15.5 billion Iraqi dinars [around $11.8 million] as the second portion of payments to wheat farmers in the Kurdistan Region,” adding that the funds would be disbursed the same day.
Baghdad had previously sent out a first installment of 57 billion dinars (around $43.5 million) to the Region’s provinces. The amount is divided into 25 billion dinars (around $19 million) for farmers in the eastern Sulaimani and Halabja provinces, 20 billion dinars (around $15 million) for farmers in Erbil and 12 billion dinars (around $9 million) for farmers in the northern Duhok province.
Kamil noted that the KRG “has nearly completed distribution of the first installment and has now begun procedures for disbursing the second payment, which will be distributed soon."
This year, the federal government purchased 400,000 tons of wheat from farmers in the Kurdistan Region at a rate of 850,000 dinars per ton (about $649), amounting to a total of over 300 billion dinars (roughly $229 million).
“We have held serious discussions with Baghdad, and they assured us that the remaining payments will be sent as soon as possible,” Kamil said.
According to official figures, wheat contributions from Sulaimani and Halabja provinces amounted to 158,000 tons, while Erbil’s share was 122,000 tons and Duhok’s reached nearly 118,000 tons.
As the new planting season approaches, preparations are also underway across the Region.
“This year, we are distributing 3,254 tons of seed wheat to farmers at a subsidized price,” said Hemin Said Murad, Director General of Agriculture in Erbil, on Monday. He confirmed that the seed distribution process is already in motion across the Region’s provinces.
While the Iraqi federal government has procured 400,000 tons of the Kurdistan Region’s wheat at official prices, Erbil’s agriculture and trade ministries have formally requested that Baghdad increase the quota and buy all the wheat produced by Kurdish farmers.
Iraq’s General Company for Grain Trading - an affiliate of the federal trade ministry - announced that the total quantity of wheat received up to July 19 reached a little over 5 million tons. Baghdad had procured nearly 2.5 million tons from the federal provinces in the first half of 2025.
Hiwa Ali, spokesperson for the Region’s agriculture ministry, stated in July, “As long as they have sufficient production from other regions, they are unlikely to increase the Kurdistan Region's share,” implying a potential favoritism in Baghdad’s procurement strategy.
In an effort to support farmers, the KRG earlier this year imposed a ban on wheat imports into the Region.