Dr. Fahd Balghaneem, Minister of Agriculture, has given a month's notice to fruit and vegetable merchants to follow Saudi import standards. The move comes after customs stopped 400 trucks of Syrian, Lebanese and Turkish fruits and vegetables because they did not meet importing standards and specifications. Some merchants told Al-Hayat newspaper that “the Ministry of Agriculture decision to enforce the quality and size standards of vegetables and fruits caused a sharp increase in prices two weeks ago”. They said prices decreased following the minister's decision but that they expect them to increase again when the grace period ends. Malik Al-Faraj, a fruit and vegetable merchant, said, “These standards and specifications will benefit the consumer but will increase prices because the standards emphasize a standard size for fruits. The Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese and Turkish farmers and exporters mix small and large sizes of fruits together and set the price. But according to the new standards, the exporters must set a unified size and price and the prices will be close to the prices of fruits imported from Europe and America.” He said that farmers as well as exporters will comply with the new standards however “this will be reflected in local prices, which will go up.” Hassam Al-Tawabi, a fruit and vegetable merchant, insists “that the grace period given to merchants should be enough to allow exporters to reorganize their business to comply with the new standards and specifications.”
