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Lebanon Food and Drink Report 2007
Business Monitor International, Feb 2007, Pages: 68
The Lebanon Food Drink Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Lebanons food and drink industry.
The effects of the war in mid-2006 between the Israeli military and Hizbollah forces in Lebanon continues to dominate industry news in the latest Lebanon Food & Drink report. A December 2006 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), revealed the full extent of the damage caused by the conflict, estimating the losses to the country’s agriculture and fisheries industry at US$280mn. The 34-day long conflict ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire and devastated the country’s
infrastructure and agriculture. The Israeli bombing was directed mainly at southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are among the poorest areas of the country. There was also heavy use of cluster bombs in the south, which had a particularly damaging effect.
Much of this year’s harvest was left to rot in the fields, as the bombing campaign forced farmers to abandon their crops. It was near impossible to transport what has been harvested due to the extensive road damage. This coincided with the peak harvest time for export crops such as fruits and potatoes, therefore robbing many farmers of an important source of income. The presence of tens of thousands of unexploded cluster bombs meant that many farmers have been too scared to enter their fields, particularly after a series of deaths and maimings from these bombs. Agriculture accounts for almost 70% of total household income in southern Lebanon, and according to the FAO estimates, 25% of cultivated land in the south has been rendered useless until the unexploded bombs can be removed.
Due to this lack of income, many farmers have fallen into debt. ‘This year, their ability to repay these debts has been reduced to the minimum, making it impossible to start the new cropping cycle due to the lack of working capital,’ said the report, leaving many farmers heavily indebted. Lebanese farmers then began pressuring the government to supply them with greater aid in order to deal with the consequences of the war, complaining that not enough has been done. In response the government has stated that they are trying to help farmers as much as possible, but that the financial aid that has arrived in the country is not enough to help all sectors. The political situation is only making the state of affairs worse, as escalating tensions between the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Hizbollah has been distracting from rebuilding efforts.
Meanwhile, on a more positive note, in December 2006 the EU announced a EUR5mn (US$6.5mn) grant for Lebanon’s first agro-food vocational school, which will be opened in Bekaa in 2007. Lebanon’s Education Ministry will also contribute US$1.3mn for the school which will offer a three-year baccalaureate degrees with agro-food specializations and short-term training courses for workers in the industry. Despite the fact that the agro-food industry employs 25% of Lebanons private-sector wageearners, the industry suffers from a chronic dearth of qualified labour. It is hoped that this school will not only help rectify this imbalance, but will also serve as a template for how to supply labour to an area of potential economic growth.
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