Kurdistan Region exported its pomegranates for the first time ever to Gulf nations. This was the Region's first non-oil export and a significant development in its efforts to diversify its economy. The CEO of Sazan's Pomegranate Company, Faraydoon Namdar, said that they have prepared 1000 tons for export and have shipped 20 tons of pomegranates to the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, the pomegranates grown in Kurdistan were favorably received.

Over the past ten years, the production of pomegranate has substantially expanded. Pomegranate production in Kurdistan as a whole climbed from 9,708 tons in 2008 to 29,338 tons in 2018. Begard Talabani, the minister of agriculture and water resources for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), announced her department's plans to brand and export pomegranates as uniquely Kurdish, making agriculture a significant source of income for both the public and private sectors.

In addition to pomegranates, the Kurdistan region can produce a wide range of other fruits and goods that may be traded with neighboring nations and be used as a source of income to support local farmers by shifting the focus from oil export to agriculture. The region can also become self-sufficient in this way.

According to data from the ministry of agriculture, the Kurdistan Region imported fruits and vegetables worth $7.1 billion from other countries between 2004 and 2014, primarily from Turkey and Iran.

One of the KRI's largest crops is wheat. In the previous ten years, the amount of land used for wheat farming has expanded by 80%, and the KRI now produces about one million ton of wheat annually. That, among all other products, can serve the economy of the region in different ways.  The prime minister also shared that “Kurdistan’s agriculture has untold potential. We want to see Halabja pomegranates compete globally; apples in the Berwari valley exported, walnuts from Hawraman, tahini from Amedi, figs of Akre and other products each tell their own story in new markets.”

The first step has been taken, with the hope that all the rest will follow.

By: Barez Ali