EBRIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq is set to suspend tomato imports to boost sales for farmers in the Kurdistan Region following protests demanding market protection, the government has announced.
The Iraqi ministerial council for economy, headed by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, has decided to halt all tomato imports into Iraq “to support farmers… and the sale of tomato production from the Kurdistan Region,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Region's agriculture and water resource ministry on Monday.
The statement highlighted that the decision aims to assist farmers in rural areas like Penjwen, Sidakan, and the plains of Duhok and Erbil provinces.
Iraqi and Kurdish officials held high-level discussions in Erbil on Sunday to strengthen cooperation and address long-standing financial issues, including civil servant salaries, the Region's budget share, and customs and tax policies.
Farmers’ representatives from various areas in the Kurdistan Region gathered outside the meeting location, demanding that the government restrict the import of certain foreign agricultural products, particularly tomatoes, as they say authorities had previously promised.
“We do not have any support from the government… we only want to have a market,” Aram Omar, a representative of Penjwen’s farmers, told Rudaw’s Kavin Hussein on Sunday.
Kurdish farmers have repeatedly protested against the government for failing to provide support, including seeds and subsidies while allowing the import of foreign goods.
On several occasions, Kurdish farmers have destroyed their crops in protest, forced to sell at a loss due to low prices. They have also demonstrated against the presence of banned imports that have pushed their produce out of the market.
