Export deal to Egypt is too little too late for small Lebanese farmers
Apple farmers held dozens of protests and blocked roads across Lebanon to urge government action, asking authorities to compensate them. Small producers have already sold most of the 155,000 tonnes of apples produced during this season at the very low price of LL250 (17 cents ) per kilogram. Worse, some of the leading merchants who purchased the locally produced apples, imported apples from Turkey, to further deflate prices.
This was an unsettling situation that was directly linked to poor political decisions at the expense of hard-working farmers. For beyond meeting local market needs, Lebanese agriculture production shifted towards lucrative exports, which flourished between 2007 and 2014. In fact, exports of potatoes, citrus, apples, bananas, onions, lettuce, grapes, and apricots, in particular, recorded net increases, averaging 4 per cent each year, passing from 504,000 tonnes in 2011, to 526,000 tonnes in 2014. Moreover, and despite higher production costs, Lebanese farmers survived, though import restrictions from Gulf Cooperation Council states closed various trade routes. Traditional markets like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE were no longer willing to conduct business with Lebanon because of Hezbollah’s interference in their internal affairs.
On Tuesday, Agriculture Minister, Akram Chehayeb, revealed that Prime Minister Tammam Salam reached an agreement with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, during a meeting held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, to increase Egyptian imports of Lebanese apples. As Cairo imports up to 38,000 tonnes of Lebanese apples a year, and has been doing so since 2008, this new deal will see the figure reach 50,000 tonnes, or a third of all local production. Chehayeb announced that Lebanon would cover transport costs, while Egypt will be responsible for refrigeration.
Click here to read the full article
