PHOTOS: Watermelon fields continue to flourish in Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Watermelon, as one of the key locally produced fruits, continues to thrive in the autonomous Kurdistan Region due to the friendly agricultural environment in the region and government measures to protect domestic products.

Watermelon, produced at hundreds of tons annually across all the provinces in the autonomous region, is also being exported to different parts of Iraq.

One of the in-demand fruits during the summer, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources has taken various measures to protect locally produced watermelons from imported ones.

The KRG has already decided to tax a number of imported summer fruits from abroad starting from May 15, including watermelon, at 400 IQD ($0.34) per kilogram, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources.

Over the past years, watermelons had been imported from neighboring countries, including Iran and Turkey, which raised concerns among local farmers.

The KRG has now taken various measures to encourage and protect local products. Taxing imported fruits has been one of these actions.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany