Difficulties facing marketing of dates, Agricultural Ministry’s negligence

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com:  The head of the Agricultural Commission in Karbala’s Provincial Council disclosed that there is “a conspiracy conducted by merchants against Iraqi dates,” stressing that “the Agriculture Ministry bears the responsibility for not marketing 26000 tons due to negligence.”   Sattar al-Ardawi told IraqiNews.com that “the farmers harvested 26000 tons of dates, but this great quantity was not marketed and still remaining in the stores”.   “There is a conspiracy by the merchants who wait to sell these greater quantities as semi damaged materials at cheaper prices”, he added.   Ardawi stressed that the “Ministry of Agriculture shoulders the responsibility for its inability to provide suitable stores, in addition to using packing factories in order to export them, instead of the merchants.”     RM (TS)/SR 445