Roving grocery trucks to be deployed in Baghdad with subsidized goods

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Trade Ministry plans to launch a mobile shopping service in the coming days, deploying trucks stocked with food and consumer goods to residential areas of Baghdad at subsidized prices, the director general of the state company for foodstuff trade said.

“The service will be implemented through large vehicles equipped with all available goods in the hypermarket, to provide a complete shopping experience that reaches directly to residential areas,” Lama al-Moussawi said. Five to six vehicles will operate from each hypermarket branch, covering different parts of the city, and will also visit government offices and public institutions.

Moussawi said the initiative builds on six existing cooperative branches in Baghdad but is designed to reach those unable to access fixed locations. She added that the project is expected to create jobs for sales staff, cashiers and promoters.

Plans are underway to expand the cooperative network this year, with a new branch planned for the Iskan area and two additional branches in Najaf and Karbala. Further projects are under development in Diyala, Kirkuk and Nineveh as part of a long-term plan to establish 116 hypermarkets across the country.

The move is part of a broader Trade Ministry strategy to expand its retail network and strengthen partnerships with the private sector, with officials previously saying the plan aims to reinforce “the state’s presence as a guarantor in the retail market” while offering “broad consumer options at competitive prices.”