Masoudi did not rule out the presence of “political goals behind the lack of advancement of the Iraqi production.” He added, “A war is being waged against Iraqi products, in favor of [products from] countries such as Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which benefit from Iraq as a market consuming their goods.”
Government statistics show that Iraq’s imported goods are worth $65 million per year.
Ahmed Hashim Habobi, an engineer, told Al-Monitor, “In 2003, the year when Saddam Hussein’s regime was ousted, we witnessed a horrible collapse of the Iraqi industry, given the lack of electricity that is necessary for the operation [of factories] and declining security situation, particularly in the industrial areas bordering the cities.”
Saleh Sayyid Bakr, a political analyst, author and columnist for the online newspaper Elaph, spoke to Al-Monitor about the reasons behind the deterioration of agricultural and industrial production in Iraq. He said, “The security and political situations, the scarcity of expertise and treaties necessary for the advancement of the country and the lack of construction projects have prevented the development of Iraqi products.”
Bakr added, “Iraq has turned into a large consumer of agricultural products, although it has all of the key factors enabling it to be the first agricultural country in the entire region.” He attributed this to “the lack of land reclamation, the desertification of vast fertile agricultural land and the conversion of large agricultural land and orchards into residential areas.”
The interviewees mentioned many reasons behind the lack of competition between local and foreign goods. Yet, a stable security situation remains a key factor to achieve development. Without it, all of the attempts to develop production capacities will be in vain.
(Picture: Imported fruit and vegetables in a Baghdad market. Photo credit: Layth Mahdi)
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