Iraqi trade officials check out U.S. wheat production

Iraqi trade officials check out U.S. wheat production    A group of Iraqi trade officials are touring the United States, starting this week, to meet with U.S. government and private sector representatives about supplying wheat to the war-weary country.
   The trip was organized by U.S. Wheat Associates, a Washington-based trade group. The Iraqi officials are from the Ministry of Trade, Grain Board and Private Sector Development Directorate, which oversees the country’s grain imports.
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Services said Iraq imported about 2.3 million metric tons of U.S. wheat in the 2005-2006 marketing year, or about 56 percent of its total.
   During their trip, the Iraqi officials will meet with the USDA in Washington, the Kansas City Board of Trade, and the Federal Grain Inspection Service Technical Center, continuing on to Portland, Ore., to meet with wheat exporters, U.S. Wheat Associates said.