As the potato product in the Kurdistan Region has surpassed the internal demand level, 500 tons of the product will be exported to Russia this year, said Kurdistan Region's minister of agriculture.
Speaking at a press conference in the inauguration ceremony for launching a mega factory for producing fried potato chips, Abdulsattar Majid said currently Kurdistan farmers are capable of producing 243,000 tons of potato annually.
He said eight years ago, the internal product level stood at only 1,000 tons a year.
The minister added earlier Kurdistan Region has sent a portion of potato surplus to Saudi Arabia and some neighboring countries.
The minister also said installing plants like the Beirut-Erbil Factory for producing potato chips will help make potato the source of a new industry in Kurdistan.
Majid promised that his office will continue supporting the farmers and companies in exporting their harvested product as well as in building cold storages and in providing them with true seed.
The new Beirut-Erbil factory, built on 47 donums (over 11.5 acres), counts as the largest and most sophisticated plant across Iraq and Kurdistan.
The factory, which has also created jobs for 300 individuals, has already purchased 8,000 tons of potato and will use 2.5 tons on a daily basis, said Shaaban Nahar, said the general director of the factory.
He added the total volume of potato that the factory is expected to purchase a year is 19,000 tons.
Basnews
16 July
