Potato growers in the Akkar Valley, Lebanon, have started harvesting their crops for the current agricultural season amid fears that the country will not be able to export its production, which is expected to amount to between 90,000 and 100,000 tonnes this year.
The chairman of the Cooperative of Potato Growers in the Akkar Plain, Omar Al-Hayek, stressed that the Akkar Plain will have a plentiful production this year and the quality will also be excellent.
He said that prices are good thanks to the decision of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Minister of Agriculture Ghazi Zuaiter to stop the introduction of Egyptian potatoes to Lebanon for the benefit of local producers.
The local markets cannot absorb the entire domestic production and some of it will consequently have to be exported to foreign markets. "The domestic market can absorb a maximum of 40,000 tonnes, so we'll need to export about 60,000 tonnes," said Hayek.
He explained that the agricultural sector in Lebanon is very important and potato cultivation is the backbone of the sector, and also that growers in this sector cannot afford to suffer any more losses.
Source: almanar.com.lb
