Iraq’s new grain board chief said, he expected local wheat production at no less than 2.5 million tonnes in the 2018 season, an improvement over previous forecasts on the back of recent rainfall. Iraq had said in February it expected wheat and barley production to drop by around 20 percent from 2017 due to dry weather. Iraq needs an annual wheat supply of between 4.5 million and five million tonnes, implying an import gap of around two million tonnes for the year. There are areas that have also now been added to our local purchasing plan like Mosul and Anbar which will fill any dips in production if they happen.