The Consul General of Italy in Erbil, Michele Camerota participated in the inauguration of Agro Pack Food Iraq, attended by 317 exhibitors from 18 countries. This is the international fair for food processing and packaging together with Iraq Plast 2024, a fair dedicated to the plastic, printing and packaging sectors.
These are strategic sectors for the Iraqi government: between 2015 and 2023, Iraqi imports of food processing and packaging technologies increased at an annual growth rate of 15.4 per cent, from €76 million to €239 million, making Iraq the third largest Arab importing country in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These technology imports allow Iraq to develop and diversify its production, increase exports and replace imports of consumer goods.
Food imports also increased between 2017 and 2022, with an annual growth rate of 12.5 per cent, from $11.245bn to $20.3bn. This consolidates Iraq's position as the third largest importer of food in the Arab Middle East, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Many Italian companies were present at Agro Pack Food Iraq, encouraged by Governor Khoshnaw and Agriculture Minister Talabani to explore further cooperation opportunities in Iraq.
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