ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Thousands of people visited Halabja for its annual Pomegranate Festival, a tourism official told Rudaw on Saturday. In the past two days, "190,000 visitors and tourists have visited the pomegranate festival," Hawraman Jalal, spokesperson for Halabja’s tourism directorate, told Rudaw. Attendance at the tenth Pomegranate Festival reached 80,000 visitors on the first day and rose to 110,000 on the second day. People who were deterred from going on Friday due to heavy rains are still able to enjoy the festival on Saturday, its final day. The three-day event, held at Halabja's central park, features a variety of pomegranates and locally produced honey, vinegar, and dried fruits with contributions from more than 500 farmers. The festival serves as a marketing opportunity for pomegranate farmers, traders, and family businesses. Halabja is known for producing the finest pomegranates in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. In 2022, pomegranates from Halabja were exported to Gulf countries for the first time, marking the Region's first non-oil export and a landmark step in efforts to broaden the economy. Halabja produced 12,500 tons of pomegranates planted on nearly 9,000 dunams of land in 2022, according to the city's agriculture directorate.
