The popular festival saw around 200,000 tourists visit the city over the course of the three days, a member of the festival’s organizing committee told Rudaw.
“Based on the calculations we have done, the festival took around 600 million dinars in sales,” Arsalan Abid told Rudaw, adding that outside the festival, business owners have also made tens of millions this year.
Showcasing 26 different types pomegranates from Halabja province, the festival also displayed local products made by Halabja women – something festival organizers were keen to encourage.
Nearly 500 farmers took part in the event, with 600 shops - many of which were run by women. Another member of the organizing committee, Bahra Ahmed, told Rudaw that over 150 women had sold textiles, folklore products and food.
Vendor Kale Qadir explained that “the men usually sell pomegranates and women mostly sell products they make themselves such as textiles, Kurdish clothes, and food.”
Halabja produced fewer than 25,000 tons of pomegranates this year, according to Star Kamal, head of Halabja’s Agriculture Directorate, which is down from last year’s 35,000 tons and linked to shortages of water.
Farmers previously expressed their desire to increase the export of Halabja’s pomegranates. Halabja pomegranates were seen in European markets last year, but the volume of exports was limited.
Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Agriculture said it has plans to support farmers who want to export their pomegranates.
According to Abid, the committee is keen to hold the festival every year, “despite the hard work it takes to prepare for it.” The festival’s organizing committee has planned to open a similar festival in spring in order to sell more local products.
