Apple growers in Bsharri forced to sell their lands because of the depressed market

In its follow-up of the crisis in agriculture, As Safir daily highlighted the plight of apple growers in the caza of Bsharri, despite the remarkable harvest expected to result in the production of some 1.5 million boxes of apples. As Safir portrayed the farmers’ fears of a repeated scenario of past years and spoke to one expert, Anwar Fakhree, who called for a clear agricultural public policy and export calendar that would avoid drowning the domestic market with surplus harvest. Fakhree pointed out that certain farmers are planning to sell their apple orchards, like he did when he has forced to sell two in order to cover his financial losses. The newspaper cited agricultural experts as anticipating a promising season, but also lamenting the lack of foreign outlets for exports. In the past, they said, nearly 70% of the apple production went to Egypt and the remaining 30% to other Arab countries. Currently, while exports to Egypt have become unprofitable, exports to other Arab markets were halted because of the war in Syria. Experts also warned that this year’s production will most probably end up in cooling houses while income to farmers will barely cover the cost of cooling. In order to resolve the crisis on the long-term experts proposed that the government seeks new outlets, seek the beneficiation of apple growing through encouraging the setting processing unit that will produce cider vinegar, juices and jams, etc, and finally directly assist farmers by subsidizing the prices of fertilizers and rationalizing their use. (As Safir, June 27, 2016)