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Beqaa poultry farmers lament illicit competition and West Beqaa farmers official negligence

6-3-2019

Poultry farmers in Beqaa met in Za7hleh yesterday to call for the immediate end to the widespread smuggling of broilers and eggs into Lebanese territory from neighbouring Syria. They said local dealers and traders are stacking warehouses with tons of smuggled eggs, forcing many farmers into bankruptcy and the loss of billions, while more than 400 labourers have been sacked in recent weeks. Participants in the meeting agreed to form a committee that will visit Army commander and the director general of Customs to this end, warning plans to step up their protest and block main roads if they did not receive positive response. Recalling, that the minister of agriculture, Hassan Lakees, has promised poultry farmers to refrain from issuing import licenses in an attempt to protect the sector. On the other hand, West Beqaa farmers staged a sit-in yesterday along the Fer’a River in Gaza, Beqaa, in protest against official slackness, including municipalities and concerned unions, for failing to clean the river beds and waterways flowing into Litani River. The last storm, to recall, has drowned many homes in the area in wastewater and devastated agricultural fields and plantations along the river basin in the town of Hosh H7arimeh, Khiyara and Gaza. Demonstrators appealed to the three presidents to find quick solutions to the floods warning of escalating action. (Al Mustaqbal, March 6, 2019)

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Kleiat Airport will create 5,000 jobs

5-3-2019

Within the continuous effort to promoting the economic role of the northern capital, the former Civil Aviation Authority director, Hamdi Showk, revealed a study on the projected Kleiat airport, that shows that the 10 million and 452 square meter airfield boasts the features of the smart and environment-friendly facility which includes various logistical services required by the international air transportation system. Similarly and during his participation on February 16 in a seminar, ‘President Rene Mouawad Airport (Kleiat): A development gear and a national need’, Showk underlined the importance of human capacities to operate the airport, saying it could provide around 5,000 jobs. Regarding the port of Tripoli, the minister of transportation and public works, Youssef Finianos, discussed last month with a delegation of Gulftainer, container terminal at Tripoli Port, expanding the berth of the terminal from 600 to 1050 meters so that it can handle the growing number of containers that presently total some 10,000 containers per month. (Al Diyar, February, 17, 19, 21, 27, 28, 2019)

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Horeca 2019 hospitality fair

4-3-2019

Under the patronage of tourism minister, Hospitality Services announced in press conference on Friday, the launch of the 26th edition of the regional hospitality and food service exhibition, Horeca Lebanon held this year under the slogan, ‘For a better industry’. The 4-day event will take place at the Beirut Waterfront, Seaside Arena, from April 2 to 5 and will embrace more than 10 daily activities, including cooking demos and forums. More than 70 international experts from the world of food, beverages and hospitality are expected to attend and share their experiences, and be part of a jury in a number of competitions. On the occasion, Jumana Damus Salameh, the managing director of Hospitality Services, the event organiser, said: “We are proud to offer experts a unique platform that allows them to communicate, interact and explore new products.”  (Al Diyar, March 3, 2019)
 

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Less than one third of Lebanese students in public schools!

28-2-2019

In its issue of today, Al Akhbar newspaper wrote that the total number of students for the academic year 2018-2019 stood at 1,076,616 students. The preliminary figures of pre-university education published by the Center for Educational Research and Development, the newspaper said, has shown that the rise in the number of registered students in public schools in the current academic year did not exceed 0.41% compared to last year. Figures also showed a surge in the number of Syrian refugee students enrolled in the afternoon program, a slight increase in student count in private schools against a small decline in semi-private schools. According to Al Akhbar, the distribution of students in the education sectors for the current academic year came as follows: 334 thousand and 536 students (31.07%) in state schools; 565 thousand and 593 (52.51%) in private schools and 140 thousand and 312 students (13.03%) in private-free schools and 36,375 students (at 3.37%) in schools run by the UNRWA. (Al Akhbar, February 28, 2019)

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Legalisation of cannabis and general amnesty law

27-2-2019

A few days from now, farmers start throwing their cannabis seeds in the vast planes of the Baalbeq-Hermel area known for its semi-arid continental climate, An Nahar newspaper wrote today. According to An Nahar, the majority of local farmers persists in cannabis cultivation, despite the fact that is illegal, because of the deteriorating living and economic conditions. The newspaper noted that authorities have halted the combating of cannabis since six years ago, thus giving the impression that it is implicitly tolerating it, while formal discussions proceeds on ways to legalise the growing of cannabis and its use for medicinal purposes. The newspaper also reports that total areas under cannabis cultivation continue to steadily expand and has exceeded 250,000 dunums last year. ِAn Nahar concludes that with the inclusion of general amnesty law in the program of the new government, farmers now strongly believe that the legalisation of cannabis will move in pair with progress of the amnesty law. (An Nahar, February 27, 2019)
 

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Agricultural unions demand a plan to salvage the sector

26-2-2019

The Beqaa Farmers’ Gathering appealed to the new minister of agriculture, Hassan Lakees, to put an emergency plan to salvage the waning agricultural sector. The suggested plan includes the following: suspend import licenses issued earlier and re-organise them to meet local market needs; revise licenses for the importation of all kinds of fruits and vegetables; cancel all licenses involving the export of banana from Syria and Jordan or livestock to Arab countries, as well as cancellation of licenses for the import of pesticides, frozen potato, cheeses and dairy products, apples and pears. The Gathering asked Lakees to seek the regulation of agreements made with Syria, Jordan and Egypt to protect the Lebanese farmer, and negotiate with the Syrian authorities to reduce the tariffs enforced on trucks crossing through the Naseeb crossing. On the other hand, minister Lakees promised a delegation of poultry and livestock farmers who visited him on February 20, to look into the sector’s needs, particularly on the matter of halting the issuance of any import licenses to protect the industry. A delegation member, Saad Raad, said Lebanon currently produces its domestic needs from poultry, protesting against imported products that dump the local market at very competitive prices. For the same purpose, a delegation of poultry producers in Akkar visited MP Hadi Hbeish decrying the suffering of farmers and the deprivation threatening thousands of households because as a result of illicit competition of the frozen broilers imported from Brazil or smuggled from Turkey via the illegal border crossing which led to the price slump. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, February 22, 23, 24, 2019)

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Food safety: Egyptian onions confiscated, trade ban on other products

25-2-2019

As part of the national food safety campaign, and in collaboration with the Za7hleh Directorate- State Security, the ministry of agriculture confiscated yesterday around 2400 kgs of adulterated Egyptian onions at the central vegetable market of Furzol, in addition to expired local onions. On the subject, Louis Lahoud, the ministry’s general director, said the follow up of this file came upon instructions from minister Hassan Lakis, stressing the continuation of the campaign in all the Lebanese markets. To recall, the minister of economy in the new government, Mansour Tabsh, issued a circular on February 21 suspending work at Ghazal Mills in the southern town of Marwanieh after lab tests proved their violation of local standards. Tabsh, on February 20, also sanctioned in four separate decisions, the resumption in trading of several food and bottled water products for complying with food safety specifications and hygiene conditions. These include, Fariq Co for fresh cream (Na3meh), Al Salam wal Mahaba Restaurant (Beer el Abed) and Baker Golden products (Sehayleh), in addition to Saray bottled water in Shwayfat. (Al Mustaqbal, February 22, 23, 24, 2019)

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Cultural and social factors facilitating child marriage in Lebanon

21-2-2019

In its issue of today, Al Diyar newspaper drew attention to the child marriage in Lebanon, noting that despite repeated promises by officials, a solution has not been set in motion. On the subject, Al Diyar spoke to psychiatrist Celia Khater, who explained that cultural factors are key in the rise of the phenomenon, saying, mostly, it is related to stereotypical notions about the sexual life of women and girls and their traditional role in society as housewives or mothers. Khater maintained that the marriage of underage girls is also linked to social factors, particularly to the economic status of the family. The result is deprivation of education for girls or early drop out from school to marry early as an answer to ensuring economic self-sufficiency, especially for households living in extreme poverty. Khater went on to say, that in some cases, the marriage of minors could be a financial resource for the family through so-called ‘Mahr’ (dowry) paid upon completing the marriage contract. Khater concluded by saying that, religious and political factors also impede the ratification of the law preventing the marriage of minors in the country. For his part, the head of Justicia Beirut Consult, lawyer Paul Morcus, said there is no unified age for marriage in Lebanon, noting that each sect advises its own legal age for marriage based on its religious rules. Legally, Morcus stressed, there is no Lebanese law that bans the marriage of minors, despite efforts made by civil society activists to this end. (Al Diyar, February 21, 2019)

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Favouring domestic goods in public procurements

21-2-2019

In a letter to the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the ministry of industry requested repeating the circulars to all public departments and municipalities to observe all legal texts advising the favouring of domestic products in all government procurement transactions. The ministry also demanded the issuance of a unified and updated decree covering all products proposed by the ministry according to the needs of the national industry and the local consumption market. It suggested raising the favouritism scale from 10% to 15% in prices over a period of years to assess results and take appropriate action needed. For his part, the new industry minister, Wael Abu Faour issued a decision yesterday calling for the formation of a joint committee from his ministry and the National Authority of the Litani River to survey and enforce environmental compliance of all industrial establishments around the river basin. On the other hand, the Beirut Land Customs Combat unit, upon instructions from the Customs general director, raided food warehouses in the area of Mount Lebanon and confiscated tons of foodstuff violating standards, in addition to a shelf life measuring apparatus and scores of adulterated cheeses. Nasser Haq and Ahmad Murtada were arrested for involvement. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, February 21, 2019)

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New government to support industries, Lebanon trade brand at the bottom

20-2-2019

President Michel Aoun, during his meeting on February 18 with new industry minister, Wael Abu Faour, stressed his support to the productive sectors in the country, notably the industry, highlighting the importance of prioritizing local products during any upcoming bids or tenders here. Faour said after the meeting that he briefed the President on the latest 2018 data available at the ministry, which showed that Lebanon exported worth of LBP 2.3 billion against the importation of goods which exceeded LBP 18 billion. This, Faour warned is economcally unsustaibale, cautioning that the domestic industry is being largely undermined. On the other hand, Al Akhbar newspaper said today that Lebanon ranked 95 out of 100 nations in the Brand Finance global report 2018 down one point from 2017. Brand Finance evaluates the most valuable nation brands and the degree of their attractiveness to tourists and investors. Al Akhbar wrote that the market image of Lebanon has been largely distorted, saying that the formation of the new cabinet or some minimal and patchy reforms will not improve it. (Al Akhbar, Al Diyar, An Nahar, February 20, 2019)

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