Buying Turkish, Iranian, Jordanian or Chinese products is normal in Iraq, the country of palm trees that imports even dates from the Gulf. But the global ban imposed by the Coruna epidemic has begun to slowly change the equation.

Amin Qasim says: Frankly, the epidemic that has killed about 170 people in Iraq is a blessing. The man who owns an ice cream factory since 2006 in the southern city of Basra said that "the crisis allowed us to establish ourselves in the Iraqi market."

In the past, in front of foreign products, "Made in Iraq" had no opportunity, because of its high price, small quantities, and long-time production. Consequently, the domestic product did not have all the attractions against the imported product chain.

Iraqi merchants were able to recover their local markets after they were overburdened with imported products (Reuters)

Restore the market

But by closing those borders with the global embargo, Iraqi factories - whose numbers have declined dramatically during a decade of the international blockade (in 1991-2003) and years of repeated violence and wars - managed to enter the game again.

"We were able to restore markets where exports were crushed by us," says Qasim, who runs three thousand employees in his factories for ice cream and foodstuffs that he exports from Basra to the rest of Iraq. "We no longer need to cut prices in the face of cheap Iranian ice cream to avoid loss," he says.

The numbers in Iraq are misleading, and if the trade balance is still largely surplus, it is because it is artificially inflated by oil.

In 2018, according to the World Trade Organization, Iraq exported $ 97.2 billion worth of goods and services, but it was 98% of oil and gas.

Meanwhile, he imported $ 70 billion worth of goods and services such as electricity, tomatoes, cars, and frozen chicken.

Merchants are selling their products before manufacture (Reuters)

Oil and austerity

But today, with oil prices almost three times lower, Iraq stands on the brink of a financial abyss. Import taxes have already begun to be claimed by affected local producers for years, so new income rose from $ 2.5 million in the first half of April to 7.3 million in May.

To reduce purchases abroad, Iraqi imports will drop to 81 billion dollars next year from 92 billion last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Indeed, in April, Chinese imports fell from nearly $ 1 billion four months ago, and barely reached 775 million, according to official figures from Beijing.

On the Iranian side, imports decreased from 450 million dollars a month to 300 million, but only with the re-opening of the border points from the Kurdistan region of Iraq recently.

In this context, the diversification of the economy and the resumption of industries - which were looted and stolen during wars - are imperative today. The country, which was no longer able to employ, became dependent on the private sector for wealth creation and job creation.

Basra fishermen and fish traders more than touch change due to Corona (Reuters)

A miracle catch

Hadi Aboud works in the production of plastic pipes. In addition to the almost non-existent private sector, the fluctuating banking system, and simple import taxes, it also has to face competitors in a declining currency from Iran and production at minimal costs like China.

But the citizen asserts that the recovery in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis was astounding. "Now I sell plastic pipes before they are manufactured," he says. With the large orders for materials sealed in "Made in Iraq," the factory manager asserts that "the situation has changed really well."

And more than touching change in Basra, the only southern coastal city in the country, are fishermen and fish traders. "For about a month, the number of fish has increased," says fish seller Mohamed Fadel, whose simplicity is concentrated on the central market daily.

"The Kuwaitis and the Iranians are not leaving now," he says, and therefore Iraqi fishermen now control water and fish. As a result, Fadel says, the fishing has become a miracle, to the point that the price of a kilo of al-Zubaidi fish "decreased from 20 to 11 thousand dinars," or about nine dollars.

Not only did the livelihood increase at sea, to meet the new demand, Hani Abboud plans to open the doors of employment, and raise the number of his employees soon from one hundred to 150.