Bumper fig harvest revives Iraq's Kifl after drought

Shafaq News- Babil

Fig growers in Kifl, south of Iraq's Babil province, are celebrating one of their strongest harvests in years after improved rainfall and water supplies boosted production, while urging the government to suspend fig imports during the local season to protect domestic farmers.

Hussein Malik, who operates a fig market in Kifl, told Shafaq News that this year's harvest, which began on June 20, had surpassed last season in both volume and quality following improved weather conditions and higher water levels.

The district is expected to produce around 5,000 metric tons of figs this season, with shipments reaching markets across Iraq, from Basra in the south to the Kurdistan Region in the north.

Despite the strong harvest, growers said they remained concerned about crop diseases and the possibility of imported figs entering the market during the peak selling season.

"Iraqi figs are of higher quality and better taste than imported ones," Malik said, warning that imports would depress prices and hurt local farmers.

Farmer Laith Abdul Azim said abundant water in the Euphrates had transformed this year's crop after severe drought damaged orchards in recent years.

Another grower, Anad Al-Musallamawi, said traders were traveling directly to Kifl to purchase the fruit from farms, while increased supply had pushed prices down from about 10,000 Iraqi dinars ($7.60) per kilogram at the start of the season to around 3,000 dinars ($2.30).

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