Agriculture Minister: Finding New Export Channels for Agricultural Products

DAMASCUS, (ST) – The Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Ahmed al –Qadri, has underlined the importance of the role of the Syrian Federation of Exporters (SFE) during the coming period, especially in terms of finding new export channels for agricultural products, which will be reflected positively on the producers and supporting the national economy in foreign currencies.

The minister, during a meeting with members of the Federation of Exporters, showed that his ministry is ready to provide technical support for the SFE by providing statistics and databases for agricultural products and their specifications and a schedule for production to enable exporters to export the surplus to the markets in the neighboring and friendly countries.

“The Syrian product is characterized by its quality, especially citrus fruits, olive oil and vegetables, most of which is grown according to the method of organic farming that gained relative importance in marketing as well as the enjoyment of quality specifications that enable them to compete in foreign markets, according to international standards,” the Minister clarified.

 “The ministry has achieved quantum leaps in spite of the exceptional circumstances experienced by the country through the provision of agricultural products in the domestic market, exporting the surplus of crops and vegetables and reducing the negative effects on the agricultural product, adding that the ministry is working in cooperation with the National Program for Quality on the development of standards and export rules that cope with international standards for the export of the Syrian agricultural product,” Mr. al Qadri pointed out.

The minister explained that some of the peasants planted medicinal plants that can be exported as signs of the possibility of expansion in the cultivation of these species whereas the cultivated area in this sort of plants reached 22 thousand hectares in al-Hasakah governorate.

For his part, the President of the Syrian Federation of Exporters, Mohammed al –Sawah, affirmed the importance of developing a clear export strategy for all agricultural products, pointing out that the SFE is working to create a “village of exports” in the Syrian coast to give the agricultural product the added value so as to enable the product  of suitable promotion and marketing.

Sh. Kh.