Urgent meeting to discussexport barriers with Egypt

Strict quality specifications target apple exports,
Lebanese delegation to head to Cairo Saturday

Facilitating the export of apples to Egypt will be tackled at an urgent meeting of the Lebanese-Egyptian agricultural committee next week. A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) will fly to Egypt for the four-day meeting, scheduled to start on September 1. The delegation comprises the director of export and import at the MoA, Charles Zarzour, and advisors Salah Haj Hassan and Hassan Atwi.

“This meeting is intended to resolve obstacles emerging from the strict quality specifications adopted by Egypt,” said Zarzour. Apple exports to Egypt total around 50,000 tons per year, as per the ministry’s figures.

Lebanon tests its agricultural exports for chemical residues at local labs. Egypt is requesting that these tests should be carried out at its own laboratories. “This is not practical. These tests take around two weeks to be completed and cost around $400 (per shipment).” Shipments would have to wait at the border crossing for the test results to come out.

The meeting will also tackle other procedural barriers against exporting agro-products to Egypt ahead of the main export season. The Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA) between Arab countries does not cover trade barriers related to quality specifications. “The delegation will try to arrive at a consensual agreement with the Egyptian authorities because it is not in our interest to act under the principle of reciprocity with such a major export market,” said Zarzour.

Reported by Abeer Darwiche