Halabja’s pomegranate yield surges, but exports stall

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - It was a good year for Halabja’s pomegranate farmers, but there are no export deals lining up after the fruit was introduced to international markets two years ago.

“Until today, we have not received any requests from local traders to export pomegranates,” Star Mahmoud, Halabja's agriculture director, told Rudaw on Saturday.

Halabja, located in southern Kurdistan Region near the border with Iran, is known for producing some of the finest pomegranates in the country. This weekend, it held its tenth annual Pomegranate Festival, drawing thousands of visitors. The festival also hosts cultural activities where locals exhibit a variety of homemade goods and cuisines. It serves as a marketing opportunity for farmers, traders, and family businesses.

“Last year, pomegranates were exported around these times,” said Mahmoud.

He estimated that Halabja’s pomegranate yield this year is around 25,000 to 30,000 tons. In 2022, Halabja produced 12,500 tons of pomegranates, according to the city's agriculture directorate. This year’s yield is a substantial increase.

Pomegranates became Kurdistan Region’s first non-oil export when they were shipped to the United Arab Emirates in 2022. The exports were heavily promoted by government officials.

In the past two years, local merchants and businesses would buy the produce of Halabja’s farmers and then sell it abroad. So far, no deals have been made this year.

“Until today, we have not received any letter from Halabja’s general agriculture directorate to export pomegranates,” Zeda Mohammed, director of the agriculture ministry’s planning and monitoring office, told Rudaw.

“Sales of pomegranates to southern and central Iraq continue,” Mohammed added, noting that Halabja’s general agriculture directorate can ship pomegranates through the internal borders without needing to consult the ministry.

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) agriculture ministry has said on multiple occasions that it is willing to support farmers who want to export their pomegranates.

The three-day festival attracted around 190,000 people on the first two days, Hawraman Jalal, spokesman for Halabja's tourism directorate, told Rudaw on Saturday.

Last year, an estimated 270,000 people visited and some 1.3 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately 100,000 USD) of produce and goods were sold, according to Mahmoud.

Malik Mohammed contributed to this report.