2024-02-22T09:17:24+00:00
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/ Federal Minister of Trade Athir Al-Ghariri confirmed today, Thursday, that the strategic food stock in Iraq is not a cause for concern. While he pointed out that Iraq has left the list of countries that lead in “inflation and high prices,” he confirmed that the rise in livestock prices in global markets is a reason for the rise in prices, as well as the lack of livestock numbers in the country.
Al-Ghariri said during a press conference held with the Minister of Trade and Industry in the regional government in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, which was attended by Agency, “The aim of our visit to the city of Sulaymaniyah is to prepare for the upcoming marketing season and to see the mechanism for preparing grains and warehouses, as well as to prepare for the month of Ramadan and provide the Ramadan food ration for all Iraqi citizens.”
He added, “We reviewed the mechanism for storing food supplies and the storage location in the region. We also discussed the mechanism for increasing joint coordination between the region and the center to provide for citizens’ needs, and creating new programs for auditing, monitoring, preparation, and methods of cutting and preparation.”
The Federal Minister of Trade stated that “Iraq has sufficient food reserves that are not cause for concern, especially since we took over the ministry and the country did not have a wheat reserve sufficient for ten days.”
Al-Ghariri stressed that “Iraq has now left the list of countries that lead inflation and high prices, and the country’s stores are full of food supplies,” noting that “Iraq has achieved food security, and that the coming period will be a stage of advancement and increased coordination and cooperation.”
Regarding the reasons for the rise in meat prices in the country in general and the region in particular, the Federal Minister of Trade said, “The rise in livestock prices in global markets is a reason for the rise in families, as well as the low number of livestock in the country.”
For his part, the Minister of Trade and Industry in the regional government, Kamal Muslim, said that the ministry submitted its proposals and the reasons for the problem of high meat prices in the region’s markets to the Council of Ministers and is awaiting the government’s direction.
Red meat prices are witnessing an unprecedented rise in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of the regions and cities of Iraq, where the price of one kilogram of lamb meat reached 22 thousand dinars, approximately 20 US dollars, while one kilogram of beef rose to 18 thousand, or approximately 17 dollars.
This food item has begun to disappear from the tables of poor and low-income families due to their financial inability to buy it, while there are fears that its price will rise further with the advent of the month of Ramadan, according to reports and surveys conducted by Agency.