By Rawa Abdulla
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An estimated 2,000 livestock a day are smuggled from neighboring Syria into the Kurdistan region, where dealers have found a thriving business.
According to Kurdish officials, the smuggled calves and sheep are transported to the central and southern areas of Iraq after being “insufficiently” inspected in Erbil.
“These livestock can very easily endanger public health, and they could also spread diseases among livestock in the Kurdistan region and elsewhere in Iraq,” said Ramadan Muhammad, an official at the ministry of agriculture in Erbil.
As local meat production in Kurdistan has been unable to sufficiently meet demand in the growing domestic market, the ministry decided to import stock from neighboring countries, in particular from Turkey, which is a major importer of meat to the region.
But the ministry says the smuggled livestock is far more than what is legally imported into Iraq through Kurdish borders.
“In 2015, we had some 87,000 livestock imported through our northern border gates,” Muhammad said. “During the same period we have knowledge that over 2,000 cattle have been smuggled from Syria on a daily basis, which we have no control over,” he added.
Muhammad feared the smuggled livestock could in the long run push down prices and inevitably harm the already fragile local market.
According to KRG data, an estimated 3 percent of the labor force in the Kurdistan region is engaged in breeding livestock. They often face tough competition from foreign producers, which have dominated parts of the market, especially frozen meat in the supermarkets.
“I’m afraid most of these livestock have not been vaccinated in Syria because of the war that is going on there, and we could not inspect so many a day here either,” said Muhammad, who also added that most of the cattle is taken to markets in Iraqi cities, where it is distributed.
People in the meat business, however, disagree with the ministry. Maasoum Swara, a local trader, believes the imported meat has “saved domestic livestock from extinction.”
“The local producers are unable to meet the demand, so if there was not this imported livestock, I think most Kurdish stock would have been butchered by now to meet the domestic demand,” Swara said.
Government statistics show that agriculture contributes to 10 percent of the total GDP in the region, with 9 percent of the population relying on farming for its livelihood.
The KRG offers farmers’ subsidies estimated at $250 million a year. The government invested $677 million between 2006-2013 and is projected to invest an estimated $1.2 billion by 2020.
In a new effort to stimulate the farming industry, the ministry has offered to lend cows to farmers who would use the livestock solely for the production of milk. The ministry will also set up stalls where the cows can stay and offer farmers transportation of their produced milk.
According to the ministry, over 40,000 cows will be distributed among some 4,000 farmers, in a plan to return the livestock industry on its feet.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An estimated 2,000 livestock a day are smuggled from neighboring Syria into the Kurdistan region, where dealers have found a thriving business.
According to Kurdish officials, the smuggled calves and sheep are transported to the central and southern areas of Iraq after being “insufficiently” inspected in Erbil.
“These livestock can very easily endanger public health, and they could also spread diseases among livestock in the Kurdistan region and elsewhere in Iraq,” said Ramadan Muhammad, an official at the ministry of agriculture in Erbil.
As local meat production in Kurdistan has been unable to sufficiently meet demand in the growing domestic market, the ministry decided to import stock from neighboring countries, in particular from Turkey, which is a major importer of meat to the region.
But the ministry says the smuggled livestock is far more than what is legally imported into Iraq through Kurdish borders.
“In 2015, we had some 87,000 livestock imported through our northern border gates,” Muhammad said. “During the same period we have knowledge that over 2,000 cattle have been smuggled from Syria on a daily basis, which we have no control over,” he added.
Muhammad feared the smuggled livestock could in the long run push down prices and inevitably harm the already fragile local market.
According to KRG data, an estimated 3 percent of the labor force in the Kurdistan region is engaged in breeding livestock. They often face tough competition from foreign producers, which have dominated parts of the market, especially frozen meat in the supermarkets.
“I’m afraid most of these livestock have not been vaccinated in Syria because of the war that is going on there, and we could not inspect so many a day here either,” said Muhammad, who also added that most of the cattle is taken to markets in Iraqi cities, where it is distributed.
People in the meat business, however, disagree with the ministry. Maasoum Swara, a local trader, believes the imported meat has “saved domestic livestock from extinction.”
“The local producers are unable to meet the demand, so if there was not this imported livestock, I think most Kurdish stock would have been butchered by now to meet the domestic demand,” Swara said.
Government statistics show that agriculture contributes to 10 percent of the total GDP in the region, with 9 percent of the population relying on farming for its livelihood.
The KRG offers farmers’ subsidies estimated at $250 million a year. The government invested $677 million between 2006-2013 and is projected to invest an estimated $1.2 billion by 2020.
In a new effort to stimulate the farming industry, the ministry has offered to lend cows to farmers who would use the livestock solely for the production of milk. The ministry will also set up stalls where the cows can stay and offer farmers transportation of their produced milk.
According to the ministry, over 40,000 cows will be distributed among some 4,000 farmers, in a plan to return the livestock industry on its feet.
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