Les filières fruits et légumes frais au Liban : structures, fonctionnement et perspectives

[The fruit and vegetable commodity systems in Lebanon : structures, functioning and outlook]

by J-C Montigaud, Rabih Sabra, Hala Chahine, and Philippe Henri. AGRO.M et INRA Montpellier, France. Avril 2004

Due to the progressive insertion of Lebanon within the process of mondialisation (free exchange agreement with UE, neighbouring countries, GAFTA.), this country must face increasingly severe international competition.

As a result, the fresh fruit and vegetable industry is in difficulty (high percentage of old farmers, abandonment of lands, decreasing exports specially towards the Golf countries). However, we note a fringe of modern and intensive holdings boosted by large-scale retail distribution. Within this context, the goal of this study is to locate on the fruit and vegetable commodity systems the technical, economical and institutionnal constraints, development possibilities, the corresponding challenges and the solutions to be found. To do this, the methodology used is the system approach applied to the fruit and vegetable commodity systems combined with an industrial organization framework (strategic analysis, transaction costs.). The main results indicate two courses of action: -on one hand, there is a need to reform the marketing channels (increasing producer value) and, for that, to imperatively move wholesale markets towards greater competition, to introduce a standardisation of products and to use prices as an instrument of adjustment -on the other hand, there is also a need to organise supply by the creation of producer groups and co-operatives, the setting up of an extension service, management centres to measure costs, extend farm credit.. The implementation of these long and costly changes, however, suffers from the lack of farm policies and specifically from the lack of appropriate regulations for these markets. Will the Lebanese State and the Lebanese society as a whole be able to begin such process and to pay the price ?

Full paper available at http://eumed-agpol.iamm.fr/doc/liban444final.pdf