“The decision of the Iraqi government cripples our work, in every way. This problem has existed ever since 2009 and the reason why it keeps happening is that the government [KRG] does not resolve it. Nothing has been done for us,” said farmer Azad Hama Ali, who farms in Sulaimani’s Baziyan area where a variety of produce is grown in rows of greenhouses.
Iraq’s integrity commission on Sunday said Kurdistan Region’s border crossings are not abiding by government imports bans on select items meant to protect farmers, resulting in foreign-grown fruit and vegetables showing up in local markets. Kurdish produce is now being stopped at Iraqi checkpoints, according to Sulaimani’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“We wrote a letter to the head of the Iraqi Chamber of Commerce, the heads of the chambers of commerce of all the provinces of Iraq, the Iraqi Parliament and the Kurdistan Parliament, informing them of the negative consequences of this decision,” the Chamber said in a statement on Sunday.
Kurdish farmers and produce marketers are upset with the decision, saying this will leave them with nowhere to sell their produce.
“If we are unable to sell to central and southern Iraq, then we are unable to sell these products anywhere. If we were allowed to export out of Iraq, we wouldn’t need to depend on selling to regions in southern Iraq,” said Sarwar Ali, head of the Sulaimani public fruit and vegetable market.
Reporting by Arkan Ali
Translation by Anis Ari
Video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
