OREGON LUMBER COMPANY TO SELL WOOD TO IRAQ A Portland-based wood products company has signed a 13 mln dlr contract with the Iraqi government to supply finished softwood lumber to Iraq, Edward Niedermeyer, president of Niedermeyer-Martin Co said yesterday. Niedermeyer told the House Foreign Affairs sub-committee on International Economic Policy and Trade in Washington that the sales agreement contains an option that could make lumber exported worth more than 20 mln dlrs. The delivery of about 8.0 mln dlrs worth of plywood, in addition to lumber, hinges on whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture will interpret plywood as an agricultural commodity under the credit guarantee program, he said. Niedermeyer said the government export credit guarantee program (GSM-102) administered by the USDA was the key to opening the Iraqi market which up to now had been captured by Scandinavian lumber producers. "This is the first time we have been able to sell wood products in Iraq, he said. Without the USDA program it would not have been possible. We hope this will lead to a long term export market for U.S. lumber products." He said the contract calls for supplying 21 mln board feet to 30 mln board feet of softwood lumber for housing, construction and furniture manufacturing. He estimated the profit potential for his company on the sale at five to six pct. Niedermeyer spent two weeks in Baghdad negotiating the sale late last month and early March. He is a member of the United States-Iraq Business Forum, a non-profit group designed to promote commerce with Iraq. The forum members include Westinghouse and General Electric, but Niedermeyer's company is the only wood products firm on the membership roster.