Iraq to cut Turkish cooking oil imports due political tensions

Reuters - Iraq plans to reduce government imports of cooking oil from Turkey due to political tensions between the two countries, according to a trade ministry official.

A trade ministry spokesman said the administration will gradually cut imports of Turkish cooking oil that it supplies for free to the population under a food rationing programme.

"The plan is to replace Turkish oil with locally produced oil and oil from other countries," he said, without indicating the reason for replacing Turkey with other suppliers.

Iraq's own production of cooking oil should increase next year as old factories belonging to the industry ministry will be refurbished, Industry Minister Mohammed al-Daraji told a press conference in Baghdad on Thursday.

Acting Trade Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani discussed the possibility of buying cooking oil from Armenia instead of Turkey at a meeting with the Armenian ambassador, Karen Krikorian, in Baghdad last week, the ministry spokesman said.

Baghdad-based newspaper al-Bayina al-Jadida said the measure was meant as a protest against the deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq.