Damascus-Sana
With the start of marketing this year’s citrus production, a realistic action plan for external marketing crystallized, touching the concerns of producers and exporters for the first time, the most important of which is launching a quality reliability program and opening a direct maritime line to Russia in addition to the entry of a number of major exporters on the marketing line.
The director of the Citrus Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Eng. Suhail Hamdan, said in a statement to the Sana Economic Bulletin that Syria’s production of citrus this season reaches about one million tons, including about 230 thousand tons in Tartous, and the rest in Lattakia is a basic source of income for about 50 thousand families working in citrus cultivation in addition to hundreds of thousands working Indirectly in harvesting, transportation, marketing, etc., indicating that there is a surplus estimated at half a million tons for the need for local consumption, i.e. half of the amount produced.
Hamdan pointed out that the launch of the reliability program which was recently approved by the Council of Ministers contributes to the access of our product to Arab and international markets according to an integrated marketing map on the ground through the integration of the rings related to this crop, starting with agriculture and ending in the global markets, pointing out the importance of inviting large exporters and companies to enter into these The process for disposing of the largest possible quantity at the shortest possible time according to the different harvesting dates, which is beneficial to the farmer, producer, exporter, and the national economy in general, indicating that the Syrian citrus fruits are famous for their flavor, distinct color, multiple varieties and disrupted maturity dates Its addition to being a safe product free of residual impact of pesticides certified laboratories and centers of global research.
In turn, Dr. Ibrahim Maidah, Director General of the Support and Development of Local Production and Exports Authority, stated in a similar statement that the Authority is working to create the appropriate conditions to restart the production process and provide possible support for all stages of production to export products and open new markets for them through 6 different programs that include the local production and export sectors Currently, the procedures for implementing the accreditation program for external marketing of Syrian agricultural products, especially citrus fruits, are being followed up through the implementation of a set of activities that will introduce the program and its requirements, noting the approval of agricultural holdings of an area of 2.5 hectares And above as a first stage of accreditation, provided that less holdings are approved in the coming seasons, and the technical committee on the program was formed to examine and evaluate farms, as the number of farms wishing to obtain accreditation reached 165 farms.
Meda said that work is being done mainly on setting a medium and long-term business strategy in the citrus export sector so contact was made with our ambassador to Iraq and a meeting with senior businessmen and importers of Iraq to increase the exported quantities, especially after the opening of the Albukamal crossing in addition to launching a direct maritime transport line from the port of Latakia to Russia to ship Citrus by chartering a steamer by one of the companies that will export two shipments per month at a rate of 3200 tons in each shipment, pointing to the endeavor to sign a working protocol with China that includes an agreement to export large quantities of citrus during the coming years.
Meeda pointed out to the continuation of communication with the exporters of citrus fruits to see their proposals and difficulties in their work, so two meetings were held during the last period, indicating that the authority is working on providing a new support mechanism for the citrus crop on the basis of the exported quantities.
For his part, the source asked Bashar Kamel to create the appropriate ground for the success of the export of citrus fruits before talking about support measures such as reducing fees and taxes and securing appropriate means of transportation to reach world markets at the lowest costs in addition to signing bilateral agreements with friendly countries and seeking to join the Eurasian Union that provides preferential advantages to its members and accelerate the exchange Citrus subsidy amounts for the year 2018.
Nadim Moalla
SANA Economic Bulletin