Duhok apple farmers urge import ban to sell harvest
Shafaq News- Duhok
Apple farmers in the Barwari Bala area of Duhok province, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, called on the government to ban apple imports during the harvest season as much of their crop is going unsold.
“More than 130 metric tons of apples are piled up at the wholesale market in Seje (Sêje), west of Duhok city, with no buyers, despite this year's good quality,” farmer Zirvan Barwari told Shafaq News on Monday. He said apple production is costly, citing pruning, pesticides, labor and transportation, and added that farmers are sometimes forced to sell below cost.
He called on the government to protect local produce by blocking imported apples for at least a month during the harvest.
Another farmer, Amin Mohammed, said he reached the market at about 4:00 a.m. with around a ton of apples and managed to sell most of it. “Of roughly 80 tons, I had already sold part in the orchards at low prices because I could not afford to transport it all to market.”
He urged the authorities to halt apple imports from October through December and called on investors to buy up the surplus for export.
Both farmers urged investors to set up factories to turn the surplus into juice, jam and other products.
