ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region is set to export 5,000 tons of potatoes worth 2.5 billion dinars (around $1.9 million) to the United Arab Emirates this month, one of the contracting companies has revealed. “The 5,000 tons are set to be exported to the UAE for local consumption there,” Sabir Aziz, Awra Company owner, told Rudaw on Monday. “But the potatoes that will be exported to the UAE are not all for Emirati markets; they will be going to other Arab states, including Jordan, Yemen, and other Gulf countries.” The exportation came after the signing of an agreement between a local and Emirati company, overseen by the Erbil Chamber of Commerce on Monday. Salam Watan Hashim, CEO of the Emirati Nujum Safwan Company, praised Kurdistan’s produce. “The quality of potatoes in the Kurdistan Region has encouraged us to export them to Dubai. The quality is high, and the taste is good,” he said. Demand for Kurdish potatoes has grown in recent years, with several other Gulf states lining up to buy the vegetables produced from the farms of the Kurdistan Region. Some McDonald’s restaurants in the UAE are now using potatoes grown in Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Region produces a surplus of potatoes - more than what it needs for domestic consumption. The Kurdistan Region’s agriculture ministry statistics show that local demand for potatoes is 250,000 tons, but local production is from 500,000 to 600,000 tons. The relevant authorities of the Kurdistan Region say they plan to reach 25,000 tons of potato exports to the Gulf in 2024. One of the main objectives of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s cabinet has been to diversify the Region’s economy and take advantage of its fruitful agricultural capabilities to export goods abroad, despite the majority of its agricultural products being imported from neighboring Iran and Turkey. Three years ago, the Kurdistan Region started the first-ever export of its agricultural produce to Gulf countries, marking the Region's first non-oil export and a landmark step in efforts to broaden the economy. In the course of the past three years, 14,000 tons of potatoes have been exported to the UAE; 4,000 tons of renowned pomegranate to the United Kingdom, Europe, and the UAE; 300 tons of onions to the Gulf countries; 100 tons of apples to the UAE; and 2 tons of honey to Qatar and the UAE, according to Kurdistan’s agriculture ministry statistics.
