The Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Kurdistan Region government announced today, Tuesday, that it has completed the procedures for settling the overdue financial dues for wheat farmers for the years 2015 and 2016, confirming that more than 3 billion dinars will soon be distributed to the eligible farmers in the coming days.
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry in the regional government, Sirwar Kamal Hawari, stated in a statement followed by the news agency, that the crisis of overdue financial dues for wheat farmers has been resolved, pointing out that the dues for 2015 amounted to 1 billion and 42 million dinars, while the dues for 2016 amounted to 2 billion and 669 million dinars.
He explained that the delay in disbursing these dues was due to technical and administrative errors that occurred during the mentioned years, indicating that coordination between the ministries and directorates of trade in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, along with the Federal Ministry of Trade, contributed to collecting the funds and depositing them into the ministry’s bank account.
Hawari called on the farmers to review the silos in the coming days to receive their dues, confirming the recovery of all funds owed to the Kurdistan Region from wheat revenues, totaling approximately 776 billion dinars, without affecting the rights of any farmer.
Regarding local markets, he noted that tensions in the Middle East and regional and international conflicts have affected the prices of goods and the value of the dollar, affirming the continued work of commercial monitoring committees in the region’s provinces to prevent monopoly and artificially raise prices and to protect consumers.
Regarding the electronic ration card, Hawari revealed the issuance of electronic food cards for about 4 million and 800 thousand people, indicating that the project contributes to monitoring the quality of food materials and reducing smuggling operations.