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Vaile secures Aust wheat contracts in Iraq






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Vaile secures Aust wheat contracts in Iraq
Mon 27 Feb 2006


Australian wheat farmers' prayers have been answered as Australia renews its wheat contracts with Iraq.
Source: ABCSource: ABC

There has been a breakthrough in the stand-off with Iraq over wheat sales.

The Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, says senior Iraqi Government ministers have told him they will not ban Australian wheat.

But it is not yet clear whether Iraq will maintain its ban on AWB and insists that any wheat sold must be exported by other companies.

That would mean a dramatic change to AWB's monopoly.

Mr Vaile says he made it very clear to Iraq that Australia understands its concerns about AWB's alleged kickbacks.

Labor's Foreign Affairs spokesman, Kevin Rudd, welcomes Iraq's announcement but says it would have been different if AWB had not dropped out of the delegation.

"Mr Vaile and Mr Howard radically misjudged the Iraqis in their original decision to send the AWB," he said.

But he says the decision will be welcome news to Australian farmers.

"This is a positive step forward in restoring this huge wheat market for Australia, one that the Howard Government has placed in jeopardy through its management of the wheat-for-weapons scandal," he said.

Iraq suspended dealings with the monopoly wheat exporter, AWB until after the Cole inquiry, but Mr Vaile says this latest agreement means there will be an ongoing wheat trade between the two nations.

Before he left Australia Mr Vaile said to win Iraq's support it might be necessary to let another company sell the grain to Iraq - rather than AWB.

Mr Vaile says there will be more talks with Iraq in coming months.


© 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation



Dont know if anyone else noticed a weekend article in the Sunday Times that the wheat kickbacks go back to the 1980's.................

GZ