date:Sep 27, 2020
banned potato imports in August, but this has not stopped the trade, especially from Iran. Farmers claimed that businessmen were paying around $1,700 to officials at the borders to smuggle potatoes into the Kurdistan Region.
A kilogram of locally grown potatoes sells for 300-350 dinars, while smuggled spuds can be bought for 200-250 dinars per kilo.
The Kurdistan Region consumes 90,000 tons of potatoes per year and produces more than it needs, selling about 70 percent to other Iraqi provinces,