Kurdistan Parliament to discuss rising commodity prices 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Lawmakers in the Kurdistan Parliament are set to discuss rising commodity prices in the autonomous region on Sunday. 

The Minister of Trade and Industry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Kamal Muslim, also plans to attend the meeting, according to the session’s agenda released on Friday.

Local authorities have previously addressed the issue of rising energy and food prices caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

While laying the foundation stone of a multi-purpose food industry project in Duhok province, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said his government has taken numerous measures to alleviate the debilitating effects of inflation. 

The ongoing war in Europe has had “effects” on the Kurdistan Region as well, he said. 

The prime minister added that public electricity fees for bakers have been slashed by 50 percent to lessen the burden of rising costs on businesses and ensure people would not have to pay extra for bread. 

The closure of Ukrainian ports and sanctions against Russia for the invasion are driving up food and energy prices worldwide. Many Middle Eastern countries import the majority of their wheat. Furthermore, roughly 70 percent of the world’s supply of cooking oil comes from Russia and Ukraine. 

Iraqi and Kurdish officials have previously called on Russia and Ukraine to end the war and solve their outstanding issues through dialogue.