Kurdistan Region farmers prepare apple exports to UAE

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region is set to export apples from the mountainous areas of Barwari in Duhok to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The agreement between the UAE and the Kurdistan Region is part of a wider campaign to help farmers sell their products. 

Apples from the Barwari region, well-known for their good quality across the Kurdistan Region, are being prepared to be exported.  

"These are my top-quality apples. I've sprayed them four or five times. I hope they get exported. Our apples are excellent, and Barwari apples have a strong reputation," Oraha told Rudaw’s Ayub Nasri on Sunday. 

Describing his apple trees and produce as the source of his "livelihood", he went on to say "It's not something new; I've been working with apples for as long as I can remember."

Local authorities have held seminars to discuss with apple farmers the mechanisms they will follow to export their abundant produce.

"We established these procedures at the start of the year, such as initiating training programs for farmers, and our seminar is currently aligned with its continuation," stated the Director General of Agriculture in Duhok, Ahmed Jamil. "Certain apples have reached the stage of being prepared for export."

Farmers in Barwari have registered their names in a private sector company that secured a tender to export their apples to foreign markets.

"If someone wants to buy them on a random basis, we will let them. If someone wants to buy it from us in kilos, we will again let it, as they like,” mentioned Warchin Maiy, the owner of the company.

Maiy added that they "have spoken in principle with the UAE and reached an understanding. Their companies have shown a willingness to buy our apples."

Barwari’s apple, which produces between 350-450,000 tons yearly, is the most famous product of the region.

A main objective of Kurdistan Region 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.

The Kurdistan Region in December made the first-ever export of its renowned pomegranates to Gulf countries, marking the Region's first non-oil export and a landmark step in efforts to broaden the economy.

And last month, the KRG announced that they had struck a deal with the UAE to export around 90 percent of its potato produce to the rich Gulf country.