Arab and international demand for its crops .. Iraq achieves a huge surplus in crop production by 2020
Arab and international demand for its crops .. Iraq achieves a huge surplus in crop production by 2020
12/12/2020 9:51
[Baghdad-Where]
The Ministry of Agriculture revealed, Stolen, that it had achieved a large surplus in the production of most agricultural crops during 2020, while it confirmed that it received new requests from Arab countries, Russia, China, Germany and France to export Iraqi crops.
On the other hand, the ministry talked about “the existence of high-level coordination with other government agencies to prevent the smuggling of agricultural goods into the country,” explaining that “most of the smuggling operations are through border crossings in Kurdistan.”
Undersecretary of the Ministry Mahdi Sahar Al-Jubouri said, according to government media, that “the ministry is currently pursuing a policy of exporting surplus agricultural products after achieving self-sufficiency in many crops and agricultural products by implementing a plan to rehabilitate and support the sector that had been destroyed in the areas occupied by ISIS. Terrorist 2014. ”
He added, “The ministry, during the year 2020, has made great progress in producing crops and agricultural products, as the local product played an important role in the local market, especially with the closure that accompanied the measures to prevent the Corona pandemic, as the Iraqi market did not witness any shortage of food supplies.”
He pointed out that “Corona was a real test for the agricultural sector in the country, as despite its health, economic and social effects and completely closing the borders, Iraq was able to record a surplus in most agricultural products, which encouraged exports, especially to the Gulf countries,” explaining that ” Those countries imported a number of Iraqi crops, most notably tomatoes and potatoes. ”
With regard to dates, Al-Jubouri explained that “the export operations continue at an increasing pace through the granting of export licenses, in light of the existence of a global desire and a great demand for Iraqi dates, as they are the best,” noting that “this is a new revenue to the public budget.”
The Undersecretary revealed that “many offers have been received to import Iraqi agricultural crops, starting with the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development, as well as the Gulf countries, Russia, China, France and Germany,” pointing out that “the ministry is heading towards that as long as it does not affect the local market.”
On the smuggling of agricultural products into the country, Al-Jubouri said, “The Ministry is constantly coordinating with the Border Crossings Authority, the Organized Crime Directorate, the National Security Agency and the security authorities that hold land to prevent the smuggling of agricultural goods into Iraq,” indicating that “this coordination resulted in a significant decline in the quantities of smuggled agricultural goods Where we notice that these commodities constitute a small percentage compared to the abundance of the local product.
And he continued, “Efforts are continuing to prevent smuggling operations through continuous follow-up, arrest of smugglers and seizure of smuggled vehicles and materials,” noting that “the border outlets in central and southern Iraq are fully controlled, but smuggling operations always happen at the outlets in the Kurdistan region.”
Al-Jubouri indicated that “preventing the smuggling of agricultural goods into the country falls within the framework of supporting the agricultural sector and encouraging Iraqi farmers,” noting that “the ministry has stopped importing wheat grains from abroad after achieving self-sufficiency, except for some quantities and with official approval from the Ministry of Trade, not to mention other seeds, as For the 2020/2021 agricultural season, up to 240,000 tons of wheat seed will be available, which will be distributed among farmers with 100% sufficiency.
alliraqnews.com
