Farmers are expecting further deterioration to the agriculture sector following a decision by Syrian authorities over a week ago to halt the import of Lebanese produce. “Syrian authorities refused to issue new permits for Lebanese farmers to export their produce to Syria following the expiry of old import permits and I was surprised by this decision,” Ibrahim Tarshishi, head of the Bekaa Farmers Gathering, told The Daily Star.
Tarshishi argued that the decision issued by Syrian authorities and which included Lebanon as well as other countries, will contribute to a further deterioration of the agriculture sector.
“This new decision will lead to disastrous consequences,” he said.
He added that the products most affected by this decision are potatoes and bananas.
“We have 12,000 tons of potatoes remaining from the old season and 50,000 tons newly produced while the country only consumes 20,000 tons, so we still need to export around 40,000 tons of this item,” he said.
Tarshishi added that Syria usually imports around 90 percent of Lebanese bananas, so the new measure would take a heavy toll on local banana producers.
He said the new measure was also unfair because Lebanon usually imports almost all kinds of products from Syria without any restrictions. “Not only are our exports being halted, but we are also facing fierce competition inside our market.”
Under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area agreement signed by Lebanon, the country is obliged to grant Syrian and other Arab produce and goods free access to its market.
But the expiry of the “Agricultural Calendar,” which allowed Lebanon to restrict imports of agricultural products in their respective seasons following the 2006 conflict with Israel, made things much worse for local farmers.
On top of its failure to lobby the Arab League to extend the calendar beyond 2011, Lebanon is not even exercising import safety and quality standards, which can help protect farmers from unfair competition in an indirect way.
Lebanon’s produce, meanwhile, is subject to stringent standards, which often lead to the denial of shipments by Arab states, he added.
Syrian farmers send all the produce they want at any time and we are obliged to buy them,” he said. “They send all their products in a truck or two but we are asked to export each kind of item in a separate truck, for instance.”
Antoine Hwayek, head of the farmers’ association, told The Daily Star that Syrian authorities may have taken the measure to protect their local produce.
“I believe that Syrians may even cut their consumption of bananas due to their deteriorated economic situation and instead replace it with apples, which is heavily produced by their farmers,” he said.
Hwayek believes the only way to export the local bananas and potatoes is by opening the borders with Syria again.
The farmers’ association chief said the price of these two products would drop in the coming days if the situation remained unchanged.
