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Salt Harvest Declines Sharply - Iraq

Workers carry salt bags past salt ponds in Khwelin village, southwest of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, on August 15, 2025. In the plains of Garmian, hundreds of residents continue an ancient salt-harvesting trade once known as "white gold." Production has sharply declined, with ponds now yielding less than a third of their former output, leaving villagers struggling against harsh natural conditions and poor infrastructure. Local harvester Peshkewt Saadoun explains that they collect two types of salt—coarse and fine—and notes that annual production has fallen from 800–900 tons in the past to about 250 tons today. Photo by Gailan Haji/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM