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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq will maintain its ban on egg imports as part of increasing measures to protect domestic produce sales, the Minister of Agriculture said in a statement on Tuesday.
The decision comes after a meeting between agriculture minister Salih al-Hassani and the Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Fatih Yeldiz, where the import of Turkish poultry was discussed.
Hassani informed Yeldiz that Iraq would maintain the ban on Turkish egg imports.
“The ban was issued by the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office after being approved by the Iraqi parliament, and we are going to stick to it,” the statement said, quoting al-Hassani.
In an official letter issued on April 30, the Iraqi Agriculture Ministry demanded the immediate investigation of an alleged Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) flagrance of the ban, which saw eggs enter the rest of Iraq illegally from the Region.
The decision comes after a meeting between agriculture minister Salih al-Hassani and the Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Fatih Yeldiz, where the import of Turkish poultry was discussed.
Hassani informed Yeldiz that Iraq would maintain the ban on Turkish egg imports.
“The ban was issued by the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office after being approved by the Iraqi parliament, and we are going to stick to it,” the statement said, quoting al-Hassani.
Hassani said Iraq is “determined to stick by its local poultry products,” the statement added.
Coordination between Baghdad and Erbil to enforce the egg import ban, first issued by Baghdad in April, has faced some hiccups.
In an official letter issued on April 30, the Iraqi Agriculture Ministry demanded the immediate investigation of an alleged Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) flagrance of the ban, which saw eggs enter the rest of Iraq illegally from the Region.
Iraqi voted for a final enforcement of the ban in May.
Tuesday’s meeting outcomes echo those of a June 13 meeting between Yeldiz and al-Hassani, when the latter asserted that the ban on the import of Turkish eggs would be continued.
Attempts to encourage greenhouse fruit and vegetable growth in the Kurdistan Region have been undermined by the drudge of foreign imports, with growers unable to sell ever-increasing crop yields.
Despite levies on some products, including fruits and vegetables, imports continue to be cheaper than domestic produce.
“To protect domestic production and to support the farmers," the KRG agriculture ministry announced a ban on the import of tomatoes in a press conference on Thursday.
The ban is to take effect from September 1, ministry representative Hossein Hama Karim said. The measure could be adjusted according to market demand.
No response from the KRG to confirm or deny the allegations was issued.
With the Iraqi food market flooded with Turkish and Iranian produce, both Erbil and Baghdad have backed initiatives to boost and protect domestic food production.
Attempts to encourage greenhouse fruit and vegetable growth in the Kurdistan Region have been undermined by the drudge of foreign imports, with growers unable to sell ever-increasing crop yields.
Despite levies on some products, including fruits and vegetables, imports continue to be cheaper than domestic produce.
“To protect domestic production and to support the farmers," the KRG agriculture ministry announced a ban on the import of tomatoes in a press conference on Thursday.
The ban is to take effect from September 1, ministry representative Hossein Hama Karim said. The measure could be adjusted according to market demand.
No response from the KRG to confirm or deny the allegations was issued.
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