Wanted: Food for Iraqis

BAGHDAD, 25 July (IRIN) - A shortage of items in Iraq's monthly food rations is starting to worry government planners and the UN World Food Programme, particularly as most of the Iraqi population still depends on food aid. "There is a shortage of oil, tea, sugar, rice and washing powder, across all governorates," said Ali Mazlon, deputy director of the state company for food stuff at the Ministry of Trade, which is responsible for the distribution of food items under the Public Distribution System [PDS]. The WFP reported significant commodity shortages earlier this month. "The July circle of the PDS is well underway," it said in mid-July. "However, there continue to be significant shortages in the supply of commodities in many governorates. "This situation has been exacerbated by the continuing shortages in water and electricity, and now increasingly in fuel such as gas, kerosene and petrol." Mazlon said there were several reasons for the shortages. First of all there was insecurity, he said, with few trucking companies willing to operate in Iraq because of the kidnapping of some drivers and threats to others, particularly on the western border with Syria. There has also been a slow response to Iraq's food and commodity needs by suppliers, he added. "I have not had any tea, sugar or oil for a month - and I cannot afford to buy it," Baghdad housewife Samira Jabbar said. At present tea is being imported from Sri Lanka and India, rice from Thailand and the US, sugar from Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, and oil from various countries worldwide....

But hey, not to worry. Pres. Bush says things are improving in Iraq. I mean, we got democracy breaking out everywhere in the Middle East, so the old democracy thing will take care of everything. Right?