Global Markets: Rice--Iraq Increases Reliance On India
Iraq is a key Middle Eastern rice importer and is the only country in the region to source substantial quantities from both Asian and Western Hemisphere suppliers. However, this year, Iraq has purchased nearly all of its rice from India, which has more than an 80 percent market share as of August.
While Iraq has been able to import almost 700,000 tons thus far, its 2020 imports have been stalled significantly due to a struggling economy amid low oil prices. With overall lower imports, tight competition in the marketplace has allowed India to prevail as the largest rice exporter to Iraq.