KRG to export apples and other products in 2023

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), under the leadership of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, expects to export apples, grapes, and honey to foreign markets this year,  according to a statement from KRG’s Department of Media and Information.

The Kurdistan Agriculture Export Initiative (KAEI), launched in 2022, is central to the KRG’s progressive reform agenda to diversify the economy and boost the agricultural sector of the Kurdistan Region. Under this initiative, for the first time in the Kurdistan Region’s history, pomegranates were exported to markets in the UAE. 

This year at the Davos forum, PM Barzani promoted Barwari apples to business leaders, including the Majid Al-Fatim Group of Companies–which owns Carrefour hypermarkets. After inspecting the apples and finding them to be of high quality, the Company’s CEO decided to purchase them. Considered one of the best products in the Region, the apples are currently sold in nine Carrefour markets in the Kurdistan Region, and are expected to be exported to foreign markets in 2023.

Testing of the product was conducted both internally and in the United Arab Emirates. The tests showed that Barwari apples were of a high-quality and in-line with international standards for export, according to the statement.

To improve the quality of domestically grown products and abide by international standards, the KRG created a national training program for its farmers. The program will help farmers to prepare, grow, store and export products from the Kurdistan Region.