IRAQ: Syria crisis restricts supply of goods to Iraq.

Record ID: 281398

  • Title: IRAQ: Syria crisis restricts supply of goods to Iraq.
  • Date: 19th August 2012
  • Summary: FAMILY BUYING FRUIT
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: International Relations,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAC55Y7RJX8BIMP78O585AXLH8J
  • Story Text: The supply of produce and other consumer goods to Iraq is now severely hampered by the crisis in neighbouring Syria, causing prices to skyrocket.

    Iraqi consumers are feeling the effects of violence in neighbouring Syria as the reduced flow of imported produce has led to a drastic hike in prices.
    Still recovering from years of war and sanctions, Iraq relies on imports from neighbours like Syria, Turkey and Iran for 95 percent of its consumer goods. Syria in particular is a key supplier of manufactured goods, fresh vegetables and fruit.
    But as an uprising there against President Bashar al-Assad goes into its 17th month, the supply of Syrian goods to Iraq is slowly drying up, as Syrian businesses are forced to close and supply trucks struggle to cross borders that have sometimes become frontlines.
    Traders in Iraq say they're not surprised by the price rises.
    "All the prices have increased and the borders (with Syria) are currently closed. Now one kilo of onions is sold at 2,000-2,500 (Iraqi dinars) (1.7USD - 2.14 USD) and the poor cannot afford to buy a kilo of onions at 2,000-2,500 (Iraqi dinars). Some people cannot buy because the have already been exhausted by Ramadan's expenses. Normally, the prices of all vegetables, not only onions, go up during Ramadan. We blame the government for this, because it does not provide Iraqi farmers with water or seeds to help them plant on their land," said Jaafar al-Khabaz, a greengrocer in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood.
    High food prices have become a burden for low-income families, who have struggled to afford the special foods traditionally prepared for the meal that breaks the fast each day at sunset. For many, the country's poor security and frequent power cuts make the price hike even harder to bear.
    One grocer says that while it's not unusual for food prices to increase by around 30 percent during Ramadan, this year they have seen a four- or five-fold increase.
    "Shipments of vegetables including onions, tomatoes, potatoes and all kinds of fruit used to flow from Syria when the Iraqi-Syrian borders were open. But now the borders are closed, imposing more burdens on the citizens," said Murtadha Hashim, who owns a vegetable stall in Karrada.
    Some Iraqis lament the decline in the country's farming sector, which has suffered from decades of underinvestment and neglect.
    "Regrettably our country used to be an agricultural country that depended 100 percent on agricultural production, but now it has been turned into a consumer of agricultural produce, a country that imports such goods from neighbouring countries," said Abbas Fadhil, a Baghdad resident.
    Syria's export capacity has also been curtailed by tough European and U.S. sanctions, with many Syrian companies shutting factories or reducing production, according to Iraqi trade and business officials.
    Road transport is also increasingly difficult. Iraq has three border crossings with Syria, but one has been closed for trade for about a year, while the other two have sees few trucks crossing in recent weeks.
    "The current events in Syria have hampered Syrian imports to Iraq. Moreover, the events have also made a large number of Syrian producers refrain from supplying goods (to Iraq) because of the dangerous situation of the roads and the borders. Also armed groups have managed to control a number of crossing points, thus confusing the flow and arrival of goods to Iraq," said
    Raghib Blebil, head of an Iraqi business association in Baghdad.
    Blebil called on the Iraqi government to improve and operate its own industrial and agricultural projects to help fend off price fluctuations caused by regional instability.
    "There is now chaos and a shortage of goods. We used to import from Syria, which has led to a price hike. The price increase has also caused anxiety for the Iraqi people and the Iraqi consumer. We confirm the need for a drastic solution to the problem by operating industrial projects and production projects. Whether they are agricultural or industrial ones, (it is) to avoid making Iraq hostage to regional or global developments," he said.
    In a bid to boost its neglected farming sector, Iraq placed a temporary ban on vegetable imports from countries including Turkey, Iran and Syria in 2009.
    According to Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture, the vegetable import ban will be in place whenever Iraq's domestic supply is deemed sufficient, and will be lifted for foreign purchases whenever there is a shortfall.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
Register