The Minister of Agriculture highlights food security and the role of foreign ministry in opening new external markets

The Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb, met yesterday with a delegation of the Syndicate of food Industrialists with whom he discussed food safety and consumers' health as primordial concerns.  He noted that all decision makers, farmers, food industrialists and traders are concerned with public health and food safety.  He added that he refuses that any party in the production cycle suffer from injustice and will not allow jeopardising consumers' health.  Chehayeb insisted on the importance of the food industry in developing the national economy and the role it plays by processing local agricultural production.  Chehayeb further insisted on the importance of the Ministry's laboratories and his readiness to consider the rightful demands of the Syndicate notably regarding developing the laboratory services.  Chehayeb disclosed that his Ministry asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gebran Bassil, to support plans to market Lebanese wine, olive oil, apples, honey and other agricultural products abroad.
Chehayeb also met with a delegation of the union of wineries and wine producers and indicated that the relation between his Ministry and the union is promising and called for the increase in the surface area of vineyards so as to generate new work opportunities in the sector, and for improvement in the quality of production so as to make the Lebanese wine industry competitive worldwide.  He added that his Ministry is working in collaboration with the union as well as the relevant authorities and ministries to prepare the Lebanese wine day which will be held in Berlin on May 5th 2014, especially following the success of the previous Lebanese wine day organised in May 2013 in Paris.  The Ministry is also preparing to hold the second Conference on Lebanese wine in October 2014 in collaboration with the international organisations of vineyards and wine.  The first such conference was held in Kaslik in 2013.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir 19 March 2014