With the Iranian rial falling in value, cheap sheep and lambs are being smuggled across the border into the Kurdistan Region.
"Our lamb is worth 4,000 [IQD per kilo, $3.35]. He is forced to sell it for 3,000 because of the Iranian one. If the Iranian ones weren’t selling for 3,000 or 3,200, then we would sell ours for 4,000 to 4,500," said a farmer at Erbil’s livestock market.
He said every farmer he knows has lost at least $30,000 to $40,000.
"The Iraqi dinar is valuable in Iran and the Iranian toman has decreased, making this sheep cheap. When it arrives here, the people have all made losses," said another livestock owner.
Shepherds on the Iranian side of the border smuggle livestock into the Kurdistan Region on a daily basis. Most are sent to southern and central Iraq via Arab traders.
Sheep from Iran aren’t the only ones hounding the competition. Livestock from Syria are also popular – five Syrian animals are sold for every local beast.
"We have been coming for three weeks from Qaladze and have loaded our livestock. We have lost everything because of the livestock from Iran and Syria," Ali Hama, a livestock owner, said, adding that at least 5,000 Syrian animals and about 2,000 from Iran make it into the market every day.
The Directorate General of Livestock and Veterinary of KRG's Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources has notified oversight committees in the KRG numerous times about the health dangers of the smuggled animals, but to no avail.
"Animals can in no form be smuggled into the Kurdistan Region because they don't have license, to begin with, and there might be sickness in that country. Then they will cause the spread of sickness in animals and maybe even humans," Dr. Jamal Akrayi told Rudaw.
The KRG has allowed for import of live livestock, but only with a license and through official border crossings.
The large influx of livestock hasn't changed the price of red meat in the market.
