The Prime Minister of Iraq was surprised: we sell 300 million dollars a day and do not import the equivalent

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani indicated that the volume of dollars offered on the Iraqi market does not match the value of imported goods and goods.

Al-Sudani said during his launch of preparing a food basket for nearly 5 million people covered by the social safety net: “We used to sell $300 million a day and all economists and specialists cannot explain what Iraq imports until it is sold daily. in an amount equal to that number.

He pointed out that the change in the dollar exchange rate in the 2021 budget was not accompanied by direct measures to support the poor class, so there were big consequences, and said: “When the exchange rate was changed in the 2021 budget, there were no direct measures to protect the poor.” classes, so the effect of price changes Big exchange for this category.

The Iraqi Prime Minister added: “Today, due to exchange rate fluctuations, the impact will certainly be larger and deeper, with the presence of those who are taking advantage of this exchange rate related situation.”

Regarding the recent appreciation of the dollar, he pointed out that “the appreciation of the dollar at this time was not a government decision, but rather a mechanism agreed between financial institutions and the central bank to streamline the process of selling the dollar through the currency sale window, which we criticized because for embezzlement and money that come out under the guise of trade.

He explained: “We used to sell $300 million a day, and all the economists and specialists can’t explain what Iraq is importing until it sells daily at that figure.”

He continued: “What materials are entering the Iraqi market to transfer these funds (dollars) to companies and banks, most of which use fake invoices to get this important money supply out of Iraq?”

And he emphasized that the dollar is available at the official price of 1460 dinars for real importers, and said on this occasion: “After the central bank’s commitment to the new mechanism and giving the dollar to real businessmen and commerce, which are actually imported materials needed by the local market, there is no reason to increase in the prices of imported materials, since the dollar is available at the official price. 1460 dinars, and they can be obtained to cover imports, so why resort to the black market?”

Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani fired Central Bank Governor Mustafa Ghaleb from his post due to the dollar crisis in the country.

In recent weeks, Iraq has seen a significant increase in the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, reaching 170 thousand dinars for every 100 dollars, after it was 148 thousand for every 100 dollars.

Source: RT