250 tons of Kurdistan Region potatoes to be exported to Saudi Arabia

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – 250 tons of Kurdistan Region potatoes will be exported to Saudi Arabia on Monday as part of the Region’s agricultural export initiative.

According to Kurdistan 24 reporter Renas Ali, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has signed an agreement with several Saudi companies to export 3,000 tons of potatoes to the Gulf country.

Sayed Hemin Murad, a senior Kurdish agriculture official in Erbil, told Kurdistan 24: "The attention given to the agricultural sector by the Ninth Cabinet has resulted in an increase in the output of Kurdish farmers in recent years."

Murad also explained that the consistent requests by Saudi companies for Kurdish potatoes indicate that the products of the Kurdistan Region are "in demand."

Nawzad Sheikh Kamil, a senior Kurdish trade official, has underlined the importance given to the private sector and agriculture by the Ninth Cabinet and by the prime minister himself in order to increase domestic production.

Kamil added that the Kurds are at the beginning of a new phase in promoting their products abroad. The Region’s trade ministry will provide assistance and "facilitate the export process" of private sector traders who wish to do so.

The majority of Kurdistan potato exports to the Gulf countries are requested by international fast-food chains, such as KFC, McDonald’s and Hardee's, which view both the quality and price of the product as unrivaled.

Among other products Kurdish trade officials plan to export are grapes, apples and figs.

Bashar Mushir, the general director of Kurdistan-Holland (K-H) Company for Agricultural Investments, told Kurdistan 24 on Sept. 5 that nearly 1,000 tons of potatoes have been exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the beginning of August.

Read More: Nearly 1,000 tons of Kurdistan Region potatoes have been exported to the UAE since August

Additional reporting contributed by Kurdistan 24 Erbil reporter Renas A. Saeed