The Ministry of Planning announced a sharp drop in imports during the past year 2020 compared to the years 2018-2019, attributing this to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic.
This was mentioned by the official spokesman of the ministry, Abdul-Zahra Al-Hindawi, who explained that the report prepared by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed that the total imports for the year 2020 of commodities and petroleum products amounted to $15.4 billion, equivalent to (18.4) trillion Iraqi dinars, recording a decrease of ( 25.9%) for the year 2019, when it amounted to (29.9) billion dollars, equivalent to (24.8) trillion Iraqi dinars, adding that the percentage of decrease compared to 2018 amounted to (58%), as it reached (37) billion dollars, equivalent to (43.8) trillion Iraqi dinars, as the Corona epidemic began at the end of 2019, while the total imports of non-oil commodities for the year 2020 amounted to (13.8) billion dollars, equivalent to (16.5) trillion Iraqi dinars, recording a decrease of (23.2%) from the year 2019 where It amounted to (18.1) billion dollars, equivalent to (21.5) trillion Iraqi dinars, at the current exchange rate of the customs declaration.
Al-Hindawi indicated that the total imports for the year 2020 of oil products amounted to (1.6) billion dollars, equivalent to (1.9 trillion) Iraqi dinars, with a decrease of (43.3%) compared to the year 2019 where it amounted to (2.8) billion dollars, equivalent to (3.3) trillion Iraqi dinars.