Iraq cooling unit prices double in summer shortage
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Electrical appliance prices have nearly doubled across Baghdad as soaring demand for cooling equipment during Iraq’s summer heat collides with supply shortages, traders and consumers told Shafaq News.
Air conditioners and refrigeration units have become increasingly difficult to find, particularly internationally recognized brands, while the remaining stock is selling at sharply higher prices. Split-unit air conditioners, among the most sought-after products during the summer, have recorded some of the steepest increases.
Ahmad Mudhaffar, who owns an electrical appliance shop in Al-Karrada district of Baghdad, told Shafaq News that appliances previously sold for under one million Iraqi dinars (about $763) now cost one and a half million dinars ($1,144), attributing the surge to volatile shipping costs, which now vary from one shipment to another, alongside customs tariffs that have discouraged many importers from replenishing their inventories.
Read more: Iraq’s scorching summer reshapes social behavior and work patterns
“Rising prices make it harder to sell appliances, because people’s purchasing power has dropped. Some traders prefer to delay importing until things stabilize, but the real victim is the citizen who can no longer find quality appliances in the market, and if they do find them, the price is very high,” he explained.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Salman Dhiab, an appliance trader, noted that customs duties and tariff enforcement have prompted some importing companies to delay removing shipping containers from border crossings and ports, where fees accumulate. Ali Abd Aoun, another retailer, documented further evidence of market tightening. “Quality appliances used to be available in most shops. Today only a limited number of companies supply them,” Aoun recalled, pointing out that one model of split-unit air conditioner rose in price from approximately 750,000 dinars ($572) to one and a half million dinars.
The shortage has pushed consumers toward lower-quality alternatives. Wasan Ali, a 35-year-old resident of Baghdad’s Jadiriyah district, said she searched extensively for high-efficiency cooling equipment from recognized international manufacturers but found none available. “The appliances available now are cheaper, lower quality, and break quickly. Many people end up buying them because there are no better options.”
Hussein al-Abadi, 48, shared a similar experience, telling Shafaq News that several appliances he purchased in recent months stopped working shortly after installation.
A source within Umm Qasr Port, Iraq’s primary maritime facility, disputed claims that shipping delays are responsible for the shortages, clarifying that cargo destined for Iraq is unloaded immediately to avoid penalties and that containers currently stored at the port are in transit to Turkiye. Several vessels, the source added, remain outside the port awaiting clearance because of tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around 20% of global oil supplies.
Council of Ministers Resolution 957, issued on October 28, 2025, activated customs tariff enforcement after the statute had been inactive since 2010. The resolution introduced tariff rates ranging from 5 to 30 percent depending on commodity type. Prior to this activation, customs duties on imported goods were collected as a fixed amount between three and four million dinars ($2,289-$3,051) per shipping container, regardless of cargo type or value, according to Al-Nakheel Center for Rights and Press Freedoms, an independent civil society organization.
Read more: Iraq’s updated customs tariffs, legal dispute, and market impact
