Umm Qasr Port "Mess" blamed for Delay in Wheat Shipments
By Alan Brain - Command Post
From Reuters via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) : Iraq is negotiating with Iran and Kuwait to use their Gulf ports to import 1 million tonnes of Australian wheat, Iraqi officials say.The Australian Wheat Board was last month awarded a tender to sell 1 million tonnes of wheat for delivery through Iraq’s Um Qasr port during the first quarter of next year. But congestion and a shortage of equipment at Um Qasr has prompted Iraq to seek help from Iran, with which relations have been uneasy, and Kuwait. Ties worsened after Iraqi officials accused Iran of supporting “terrorist” attacks against Iraqi targets. Tehran denied involvement, saying a stable Iraq was in the region’s interests. “There is simply no way we could bring the shipments through Um Qasr. The situation there is a mess,” a senior Iraqi trade ministry official told Reuters. “A deal with Iran to use its Bandar al-Khomeini Gulf port is effectively sealed and the Kuwaitis have indicated no objection to use their Shouaikh port,” the official, who declined to be named said. Iran has been upgrading its Gulf ports, unlike Iraq. Iraq’s now defunct Coalition Provisional Authority has already paid Australia millions of dollars in demurrage payments for shipments delayed at Um Qasr, using Iraqi oil revenues. Iraq imports 3 million tonnes of wheat a year, mostly from Australia, and distributes it to Iraqis as part of their food rations. […] “Australia has a competitive advantage in Iraq. Its wheat is preferred because of the whiteness of the flour and suitability to our baking methods,” said Mr Jubouri, a former head of the state oil marketing organisation. The minister said Iraq had considered international offers to buy another 200,000 tonnes of wheat after the 1 million tonne Australian deal but cancelled the tender. “We opened the offers and found them too high. The national interest decides our purchases,” Mr Jubouri said.... |
