Posted on 08/20/2002 3:26:57 PM PDT by knighthawk
Iraq has confirmed it will resume all of its Australian wheat imports for 2003 and beyond to normal levels as long as the Howard government promotes diplomatic solutions to the current situation in Iraq.
Andrew Lindberg, managing director of AWB Ltd, formerly the Australian Wheat Board, announced the formal agreement between the AWB and the Grain Board of Iraq in Melbourne today.
"This outcome will ensure that all current contracts for 2002 can now proceed with confidence," Mr Lindberg said.
"The agreement for 2003 is very significant for Australian wheat growers with this trade valued at $800 million per year."
Australia exports around two million tonnes of wheat a year to Iraq under the United Nations Oil for Food program, he said.
The US was considering whether to launch a pre-emptive strike to wipe out Iraq's rumoured stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
Prime Minister John Howard said Australia would await the outcome before deciding its own stance.
Labor has been critical of the government's strident criticism of Baghdad, accusing the Coalition of behaving like Rambo, with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer the main culprit.
Iraq had threatened to stop buying Australian because of the Howard government's stand on a possible strike.
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