] Canberra, March 25 (Dow Jones) - Australia, a major trade
] beneficiary of a suspended United Nations oil-for-food
] program, wants it quickly resumed to meet the needs of
] the Iraqi people, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said
] Tuesday.
]
] The program was suspended early last week when the U.N.
] withdrew its staff in Iraq ahead of the invasion by
] U.S.-led forces, including some from Australia.

] AWB Ltd., Australia's bulk wheat export monopoly
] operator, has been the biggest supplier of wheat to Iraq
] under the program since the mid-1990s, in an annual trade
] sometimes in excess of two million metric tons, or more
] than A$500 million.
]
] Australia wants to maintain its share of Iraqi wheat
] imports but fears that U.S. farmers want to muscle in on
] the trade.