Potato of Lebanon banned from entering Jordan despite the trade agreement

Trucks loaded with Lebanese potato have been stranded for three days at the Port of Aqaba despite the recent Jordanian-Lebanese agreement on September 27 allowing  entry of made-in-Lebanon agricultural goods as of October 15, including potato (c.f: http://bit.ly/2x4U6my). Some 5,000 tons of Lebanese potatoes aboard 35 trucks and 115 refrigerated containers are anchored inside the Port, according to the chief of the Beqaa Farmers Association, Ibrahim Tarshishi. To this effect, Tarshishi appealed to all concerned Lebanese parties to talk the Jordanian authorities into opening the borders and end the crisis, particularly that potato growers in Lebanon are anticipating to market more than 30 thousand tons inside the markets of the Kingdom (where one kg is sold at USD 1). Tarshishi also spelled out the anguish of the farmers who have to swallow additional expenses due to the delay, including fees for parking at the Port of Aqaba, and the associated damage or depreciation in the quality of the products which left the country 15 days ago. Tarshishi finally warned of returning the cargo and truckloads to Lebanon which would mean an economic disaster for exporters and potato growers. (L’Orient Le Jour, An Nahar, October 18, 2017)

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