Qatar Public Health Ministry has announced banning the imports of fresh Mint, Parsley, Coriander, Thyme, Purslane (baqleh), and Mloukhieh from Lebanon.
This decision was made after reporting high levels of pesticides and E.coli (intestinal bacteria) from analyzed samples, as reported by a statement from the ministry.
It is not the first time countries of the Arab Gulf decide to restrict the import of food from Lebanon.
Back in April, Saudi Arabia (KSA) issued an “indefinite” ban on the imports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon, claiming that it was a way for drug smugglers to bring drugs into the Kingdom.
KSA took the decision after officials at Jeddah Port seized 5.3 million pills of Captagon drug concealed in a shipment of pomegranates in April.
That didn’t stop Captagon smugglers to attempt another operation in June, hiding a massive amount of 14.4 million Captagon pills in an iron sheets shipment.
KSA’s decision to ban the vegetables and fruits fell hard on the Lebanese farmers, who have been already suffering from the dramatic devaluation of the local currency as farming inputs are bought at the US dollar rate.
Qatar’s decision now comes to increase that gap left by KSA’s ban, which was already deemed as a “huge disaster” by the farmers.
