Central markets have resumed trading in the holy province of Karbala for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country, a local official said on Thursday.

“We have started to activate central markets, which have been idle for the past years due to the absence of subsidy and a lack of cheap products that encourage people to buy,” the head of the economic committee in the Karbala provincial council, Tareq Kateefa al-Khikani, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The Ministry of Trade has sent nearly 100 products to be sold at the markets, he pointed out.
“Prices at the central markets are 10% less than in local markets,” he indicated.

( Aswat Al Iraq )