ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province has exported over 1,600 tons of local products internationally over the year, an agricultural official said Saturday.

Ahmed Jamil, Director General of Agriculture in Duhok, told The New Region that more than 1,661 tons of local products, including Kurdish rice, sumac, dried figs, raisins, and pistachios, have been exported this year.

Data from the directorate shows that 71 tons of Kurdish rice, 1,589 tons of sumac, 150 kilograms of dried figs, 250 kilograms of raisins, and 1,250 kilograms of pistachios were sent to Turkey and European countries during the first 11 months of the year.

Jamil also noted that 275,961 tons of local products were sent to central and southern Iraq over the year as well.

One of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s key goals is to diversify the Region’s economy by exporting goods abroad. During the current cabinet’s tenure, an estimated 8,000 tonnes of potatoes have been exported to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“Through a range of initiatives to empower entrepreneurs and strengthen production capacity, the government has supported the establishment of over 11,100 companies and licensed 1,257 new factories, helping drive the expansion of both local agriculture and industry,” the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in October.

“Significant support has also been directed toward farmers, including the construction of 30,000 greenhouses and 319 cold storage facilities, which have boosted domestic production and enabled, for the first time, the export of tens of thousands of tonnes of Kurdish agricultural products to international markets,” it added.

The KRG, under its ninth cabinet, has exported agricultural products such as pomegranates, apples, and grapes to several other countries across Europe as well as the US.