ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gold imports to Iraq declined by nearly 60 percent in the first five months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, a senior official from the state-run quality control body told Rudaw on Thursday, further reporting a sharp drop in shipments through the country’s main airports.
"Since the beginning of 2026 and until May 31, a total of 10,247 kilograms of gold were imported into Iraq, whereas during the same period last year, the amount of imported gold was 25,472 kilograms," said Ali Karim Saeed, head of the jewelry department at Iraq's Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control, with figures excluding imports into the Kurdistan Region.
Saeed told Rudaw's Nahro Mohammed that the decline may be linked to new customs procedures - namely the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) - noting that “almost no gold was imported via Kirkuk International Airport during the first five months of this year" as tighter border procedures slowed import processing.
Similarly, Hardi Samad, media director at Kirkuk airport, told Rudaw "only 882 grams of gold were imported in 2025, while no imports were recorded in the first five months of this year."
The introduction of ASYCUDA, an electronic customs platform developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the early 1980s, aims to digitize and standardize customs procedures and is now used at all 22 federal border crossings in Iraq.
Under the system, merchants must obtain federal approval and pay customs duties before importing goods. They also gain access to US dollars at the official exchange rate set by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), letting them purchase goods abroad at rates lower than those on the open market.
Saeed noted that as a result, “gold imports are now restricted to airports” and that temporary closures at airports - due to regional security developments following the US-Iran war, which began in late February and was halted in early April - “affected flows.”
He said gold imports are permitted only through airports by government approval, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) being the primary source country, followed by Turkey.
Moreover, official data shows a significant decrease across Iraq's main entry points. At Baghdad International Airport, imports fell from 18,362 kilograms in 2025 to 8,402 kilograms this year. Najaf International Airport recorded a drop from 4,120 kilograms to 200 kilograms, while Basra International Airport saw imports decrease from 2,883 kilograms to 275 kilograms.
