Syrian objection to the banning of fruit and vegetables imports to Lebanon

The decision by agriculture minister on Wednesday to ban the entry to Lebanon ‎until next February of trucks loaded with Syrian fruits and vegetables has ‎prompted conflicting reactions from both Lebanon and Syria. The Syrian minister ‎of economy, Human Jazairi, described the decision by his Lebanese counterpart ‎Akram Shehayeb as “sudden and untimely aimed to harm the Syrian harvest and ‎the Lebanese traders.” Jazairi reminded Lebanon of the international trade ‎exchange provisions that, he stressed, are continually and traditionally associated ‎with a timeline prior to the actual implementation, in order to guarantee the ‎commercial parties on both sides and avoid complications related to export, import ‎and payment procedures. Jazairi also drew attention to damages incurred on ‎Lebanese merchants and trade circles as a result of the inopportune and swift ‎decision by their government. Such decision in its present form, the Syrian ‎minister warned, entails unjustified financial burdens on both sides and has ‎negative repercussions on the interests of two old neighboring countries. Jazairi ‎recalled that early this year, Syria has received a delegation of Lebanese exporters ‎and famers to discuss difficulties in the marketing of Lebanese bananas, and that ‎the Syrian government has exempted them from customs duties as an encouraging ‎and supportive gesture. On the other hand, while the President of the Bekaa ‎farmers, Ibrahim Tarshishi, praised the “positive and correct” decision by ‎Shehayeb, while the president of the Lebanese Farmers Association, Antoine ‎Howayek, said the double-edged ban decision negatively impacts the local ‎farmers, for it benefits some products and harms others. Similarly, the head of the ‎National Gathering for Agricultural Committees in Lebanon, Jihad Balouk, ‎criticized Chehayeb’s unilateral measure describing it as flawed in form and ‎content. (As Safir, An Nahar, Al Akhbar, Al Diyar, June 10, 2016)‎