Shafaq News- Damascus/ Baghdad

Syria’s agricultural exports to Iraq have fallen sharply, a Syrian official told Shafaq News on Saturday, attributing the decline to rising Iraqi farm production that has increasingly redirected Syrian exporters toward Gulf markets.

According to Mohammed al-Aqqad, a member of the Damascus Fruit and Vegetable Exporters’ Committee, Syrian exports to Iraq are now limited to a narrow range of goods, including guava, pomegranates, and some citrus fruits, totaling no more than 5,000 tons per year —far below Syria’s production capacity.

He linked the slowdown to noticeable improvements in the quality of Iraqi domestic crops, particularly tomatoes and seasonal fruits, noting that between 10 and 20 refrigerated trucks carrying agricultural produce leave Syria daily for Gulf markets.

Urging stronger government support for the agricultural sector through easier export procedures and investment-friendly policies, al-Aqqad cautioned that mounting pressure on traditional markets could weigh on both agricultural livelihoods and Syria’s broader economic stability.

According to Iraq’s Ministry of Finance, trade between Baghdad and Damascus reached about $5 billion before the 2011 conflict. It dropped sharply during the war years to below $1 billion as border closures, security disruptions, and the contraction of Syrian industrial output weighed on cross-border commerce. In recent years, however, trade has shown signs of recovery, with estimates for 2024 and 2025 placing the value of bilateral exchanges at around $2 billion.