Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Thursday ordered the postponement of customs duties and taxes on imports of live animals for red-meat production, chicken and eggs, as food prices rose following the government's increase in the official US dollar exchange rate.

The Prime Minister’s Media Office said the measure aims to stabilize domestic markets and keep essential products affordable, while the Finance Ministry instructed the General Customs Authority to delay customs-duty collection to ease the burden on consumers.

Prices of several food staples climbed by as much as 15% on Thursday, with eggs rising 10.7%, rice 10.8%, sugar 15.4%, and cooking oil 9.1%. The increases followed the Cabinet’s decision to raise the official dollar selling rate to the public from 1,320 to 1,520 dinars, making imports more expensive in local currency. The government also suspended a requirement for advance customs payments.

Under the revised exchange-rate structure introduced on Oct. 7, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) set the dollar at 1,500 dinars for purchases from the Finance Ministry and 1,510 for sales to banks. The public rate stands at 1,520, compared with 166,500–168,500 dinars per $100 on the parallel market in Baghdad and Erbil on Wednesday and Thursday.

Read more: Iraqi dinar devaluation sparks backlash from blocs inside the cabinet