A direct shipping line with Russia .. The Export Support Authority presents a new citrus marketing strategy
Economy today:
The director of the Citrus Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Eng. Suhail Hamdan, said that Syria’s citrus production this season reaches about one million tons, including about 230,000 tons in Tartous, and the rest in Lattakia constitutes a basic source of income for about 50 thousand families working in citrus cultivation in addition to hundreds of thousands working indirectly in the harvest. Transportation, marketing, etc., indicating that there is an estimated surplus of half a million tons for the need for local consumption, that is, half of the amount produced.
Hamdan pointed out that the launch of the dependency program that 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 to the importance of inviting major 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, pointing to 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 has been 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 citrus exporters 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 2018.
