Fig harvest underway in Saladin province, output tops 30,000 tons

BALAD, Iraq — Fig harvesting has begun in the Balad district of Saladin province, where orchards along the Tigris River produce the fruit long associated with the region's agricultural identity. Growers said they pick the figs in the early morning before temperatures rise, then transport the harvest directly to local markets. Saladin accounts for more than 10,000 dedicated dunums of fig cultivation, with annual output exceeding 30,000 tons. That volume places the province among Iraq's largest fig producers, alongside its established crops of dates, pomegranates and citrus grown along the river. Local farmer Issam al-Baldawi said favorable weather has made this season one of the most productive in recent years, adding that merchants buy much of the crop in the orchards before it reaches market. Fellow farmer Rashid Mane' noted that some of the trees are decades old and continue to bear fruit under regular irrigation and pruning. Subhan Khalaf, a member of a local farmers' association, said the figs are sent to Baghdad, the central Euphrates region and northern markets, with retail prices ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 Iraqi dinars per kilogram depending on quality.