Despite high demand; local dairy production continues to dwindle

Shafaq News / Iraqis prefer to eat local dairy derivatives over imported ones for various reasons, the most important of which is their "delicious taste and freshness”.

Alia Hashem, a Najafi citizen, told Shafaq News agency that despite its "relatively high prices compared to imported ones," she prefers to buy local dairy products because it is "fresh and free of preservatives".

According to water buffalo breeder Um Mohammed, the high prices of local dairy and cheese are due to "high prices of animal feed, the scarcity of water, in addition to the lack of government support."

"I had ten buffaloes, but because of the difficult circumstances we face, I sold most of them, and now I only have three left," Um Mohammed, who lives in Hilla, the center of Babel governorate, told Shafaq News agency.

As a result of the collapse of the production system and full openness to imports from abroad, the livestock sector in Iraq has suffered a sharp deterioration, particularly in the dairy and cheese production sectors.

"The problem was attributed to the feed program," according to Ministry of Agriculture spokesman Hamid al-Nayef, who stated that "any livestock needs a program to produce feed, and the ministry started this program a while ago. However, we faced a water problem, which caused the cessation of support for the livestock sector."

"There are no manufacturing industries except the Abu Ghraib plant. It is based on the surrounding areas and villages, dairy production remains very limited due to a lack of a feed system, which also requires vegetation cover and a grazing system. We used to give each animal a specific amount of yellow corn and barley all year, "He explained.

Iraq has hundreds of important factories, most of which have been suspended, and many of their contents were looted after 2003. However, other factories, such as the Abu Ghraib Dairy Factory, continued despite challenges and obstacles. It is part of the Ministry of Industry's General Company for Food Products, which produces various types of dairy but faces administrative and logistical challenges that prevent it from competing with imported dairy products.

The Abu Ghraib Dairy Plant, located 20 kilometers west of Baghdad, is one of Iraq's largest dairy plants and was established in 1958, during King Faisal II's accession to the monarchy.

On the most prominent problems facing animal breeders, the head of the Union of Agricultural Associations, Hassan al-Tamimi, said, "livestock suffer from the lack of feed, and there are not enough allocations for import or cultivation, as well as water scarcity. We hoped to exclude the cultivation of fodder crops from the agricultural plan, to help develop livestock."

"Most animal breeders began to sell their livestock after many of them died," he said, emphasizing the importance of allocating the necessary funds to import feed.

"In light of the current situation, most livestock will be lost. It will be a great loss for the Iraqi economy," he warned, "Therefore, concerted efforts must be made to support the national wealth in all fields."

According to economist Nabil Jabbar, "Iran comes in first place among countries that export dairy products to Iraq, followed by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and then local products come from the Kurdistan Region, i.e., most of the products are imported, while the local production is very limited because of the lack of private and government factories."

Jabbar explained, "Price controls dairy sales in Iraq; low prices attract more customers, and it is difficult for local products to compete with the price of imported ones."

Moreover, the Packaged Milk and Dairy Products Industrialists Association (ASÜD) announced on March 29, 2022, that Iraq was the second-largest importer of Turkish milk and dairy products in 2021.

According to the association's president, Harun Charlie, "Egypt ranked first among the importing countries of Turkish milk and dairy products in 2021 with a total value of $69 million, followed by Iraq second with $60.5 million."