Agriculture

Cabinet allocates US$17bn to support agriculture in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that the Council of Ministers has allocated US$17 billion to support agriculture in Iraq. "The Council of Minister has allocated US$17 billion to support agriculture in Iraq and we hope that the parliament would approve this amount," al-Maliki said during a conference to develop the agriculture sector in the country. "We should not depend on oil as the only source for economy but we have to find other resources through concentrating on agriculture and industry sectors," he said. "The conference aims to agree on a new strategy and policy to improve the agriculture sector," the premier explained.

Fonterra pays US$32m for Saudi New Zealand Milk Products

Dairy cooperative Fonterra, which is owned by 13,000 New Zealand dairy farmers and is the world's largest exporter of dairy products, said it has reached a final agreement to purchase the remaining 51 per cent stake in Saudi New Zealand Milk Products, a joint-venture dairy manufacturing facility with SADAFCO in Saudi Arabia. The acquisition, worth around NZD 45 million (US$32.2 million), is subject to local regulatory approvals in Saudi Arabia. The deal will see Fonterra take full ownership of the factory, securing its current manufacturing capacity requirements for Middle East, Africa (MEA) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and allowing for further expansion and investment.

Jordan to resume exports to Saudi Arabia next summer

The Kingdom is expected to resume agricultural exports to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2010, an official said. Adnan Abdul Nour, agriculture ministry assistant secretary general for Agricultural Produce, said the ministry will spend the next few months studying the needs of the Saudi Arabian market, noting that the Gulf kingdom tends to import fruits and vegetables from Jordan in the summertime. He said that a technical team from Saudi Arabia's agriculture ministry was on an official visit to Jordan earlier in December to inspect agricultural production sites and water resources used for irrigation purposes. During the visit, officials from both sides discussed procedures taken by the ministry to ensure "high-quality" agricultural produce, Abdul Nour added. "The delegation has visited many agricultural sites and was briefed on the progress achieved in the sector over the past few years," he said, noting that the Saudi team was "impressed by the advanced techniques" being used in irrigation and wastewater treatment. Tours included the Khirbet Al Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant, where the delegation inspected the plant's filtering system, he added, underlining efforts to meet international standards regarding water pollution.

Egypt moves to other markets

Prices for Australian wheat are still too high for world markets. According to traders, world wheat buyers are not attracted to Australian wheat, even though prices to growers have declined about 30 per cent from last year's harvest. Egypt, one of the world's largest importers of wheat, has continued to increase demand without supplies from the US and Australia. After buying 300,000 tons of European wheat late last month, Egypt in mid-December bought another 240,000 tons from Russia and Germany.