Engineer Arnous inspects the progress of citrus marketing procedures from farmers

LATTAKIA, Jan.12,(ST)-  Prime Minister Eng. Hussein Arnous, at the head of a government delegation, inspected today the progress of procedures for marketing citrus from farmers in the Jableh Plain through the Syrian Trade Corporation.

The premier listened to the problems of the farmers and reassured them that the state will intervene to resolve these problems.

He told the reporters that the goal of his visit to Lattakia is to ensure that marketing process is being done according to the directives of President Bashar Al-Assad and the decisions that were adopted two days ago by the cabinet.

“The state will do its utmost to help the farmers in Lattakia and Tartous to market the citrus crop,” Arnous affirmed.

For his part, Director of Marketing Department at the Syrian Trading Company Rami Saleh said that the crop will be transported and packed by the company and this will save 200-300 Syrian pounds/kilo.

He asserted that all types of citrus fruits will be marketed until the end of the citrus season.

Secretary of the “Bsisin” Association Samir Ahmad talked about the need to open Juice-making factories in the coastal region, expressing his optimism over the government’s new measures.

The farmers said that there is a need for offering real support for citrus crops, calling for reducing the prices of agricultural equipment to help farmers to go ahead with planting this fruit.

This season, the Syrian Trading Company purchased a quantity that amounts to a two and half times of the quantity it purchased last season.

At the directives of President Bashar al-Assad, engineer Arnous began a visit yesterday to Lattakia governorate at the head of a government delegation to follow up on  citrus marketing and  to put into effect the procedures approved by the Cabinet in its session yesterday.

K.Q./ Basma Qaddour