Iraq focused on improving 'quality and quantity' of subsidy cards

Iraq's newly appointed Trade Minister Hashim al-Aani said on Wednesday he would work towards increasing the state budget for Iraq's massive food rationing programme in 2019.

The state budget for 2018 was at 1.5 trillion Iraqi dinars ($1.26 billion), he said.

"Our aim is to improve the quality and quantity of the items on the subsidy cards," he told a news conference in Baghdad.

Iraq, a major Middle East grain importer, spends billions of dollars annually on a Saddam-era programme for food rationing, the Public Distribution System, to supply subsidised bread and other essential foods to the population.