TRADE AND MARKETING Growers in the Middle East are looking ahead A lot is going on in the Middle East. You can truly speak here of landslides in many areas. Politics and economics are shaking on their foundations as is demonstrated by the domestic situation in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Yemen. Absolute dictatorship, years of oppression, high food prices, oil and water are factors that play an important role. The trade partners of the Arab countries are also experiencing the consequences, including the potato sector. One of the major changes that has had a significant impact is the decision of SAudi Arabia to restrict the export of table potatoes to Gulf County Council (GCC) countries as from 2013. It is expected that, as a consequence of this decision, half the growers in the Gulf countries will stop growing potatoes. The result is that the cultivation will shift to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. All this means that the market in the Middle East will be considerably shaken up. A few countries that are expected to take over potato growing are the Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. The latter country even has the greatest potential. Steady growth Despite the political unrest, the cultivation and acreage is steadily growing. Due to the rapid rise in potato growing in this country, we had intended to include Syria in our trip. The current situation and the negative travel advice provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs forced us to abandon that idea. That was unfortunate since this country imported a record amount of seed potatoes of more than 17,000 tons last season. This is because private imports are allowed into the country as from this year. Imports that slyly ran through the Lebanon no longer have any added value for Syrian farmers. To stop smuggling, the quality requirements have been aligned with those of the Lebanon. This makes it virtually impossible for the Lebanese trade to keep on smuggling seed potatoes across the border. Rising production costs The Lebanon has another problem and that is the decreasing availability of water. Farmers already pump up their water from a depth of 250 metres, but they have to go deeper every Despite the political unrest, the cultivation and acreage are steadily growing. 6 Potato World 2011 • number 4 Pagina 5
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