Shafaq News- Erbil

Sufficient supplies of food and essential commodities remain available across the Kurdistan Region as trade continues to flow through alternative routes via Turkiye, the Erbil Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted on Thursday, citing efforts to bypass disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz.

During a press conference, Gailan Haji Saeed, head of the Chamber, explained that the Kurdistan Region has secured supply chains for products arriving from European and Asian markets, with shipments continuing onward to other parts of Iraq.

Urging closer coordination between Baghdad and Erbil to facilitate commercial movement and maintain market stability, he pointed out that essential items continue to enter through the Ibrahim Khalil Border Crossing, the country’s main trade crossing with Turkiye in Duhok province, while traders in central and southern Iraq are increasingly relying on the crossing to avoid potential shortages.

The strategic maritime gateway has remained largely shut since Feb. 28 following the US–Israel war on Iran, disrupting energy flows and cargo movement, while forcing countries, including Iraq, which routes roughly 95% of its oil exports through the waterway, to scale back shipments.

Read more: Iraq's oil lifeline is blocked: Here is why the crisis runs deeper than Hormuz