Food industry in the South faces export challenges despite enjoying international standrads

In its issue of yesterday, As Safir daily interviewed a number of owners of food factories in the South to shed light on this promising industry, which despite significant challenges has demonstrated excellence in the sector. Kamel Badawi Bsat factories manager, Osama Bsat, disclosed that similarly to other made-in-Lebanon products, the manufacturing of local “ta7hini” and “7halaweh” is faced with rising cost of production, labor, fuel, difficulty in securing raw material from abroad, and in getting the necessary custom clearances. As for his factory which is located in Gazieh, on the outskirts of Saida, Bsat maintained that it gained in reputation with the growing demand for its products, noting that his company has opened branches in many areas across Lebanon and is also exporting to various countries of the world. Another business owner, Othman Shama, a co-founder of Milco Company for dairy products, located east of Zahrani along the Southern Lebanon road, grieved the absence of export channels for marketing Lebanese products, despite their exceptional quality. He urged concerned government authorities to “facilitate the entry of the Lebanese products into global markets”. For her part, the administrative officer at Ringo (producer and exporter) of potato chips, Luma Ghaddar, criticized the unfavorable terms of various free trade agreements that Lebanon signed with many countries, which facilitated the imports of foreign potato chips, particularly from Saudi Arabia, and that are exempted from custom fees. (As Safir, December 9, 2015)