Lebanese Local Products Flourish Amidst Economic Crisis
Lebanese people are shifting towards buying locally produced products to accommodate for the skyrocketing increase in the price of imported goods amid ongoing economic crisis.
With the 85% devaluation in the Lebanese lira’s value and the coronavirus pandemic, local businesses have been facing difficult conditions to survive.
However, domestic Lebanese markets as Souk El Tayeb in Mar Mikhael, Beirut are providing people with a healthy, homemade and less costly alternative which led to the rise in the sales of local products.
Get to Know Lebanon’s First Farmers’ Market: “Souk El Tayeb”
Every Wednesday and Saturday morning, artisan food makers, farmers, home-cooks, and local producers from every corner and cranny of Lebanon gather around to share their love for food and passion for conserving Lebanese local production in Souk El Tayeb.
The Souk, meaning market, was created by Kamal Mouzawak to preserve food traditions and allow the persistence of sustainable agriculture in Lebanon.
This market has been a golden opportunity for small Lebanese farmers and producers to sell their products which range from baked goods, yogurts, honey to fresh juices and local delicacies in Beirut, twice a week.
Ever since the founding of Souk El Tayeb in 2004, it had its own customers and did not attract the attention of a lot of people. Recently, however, many people have shifted towards supporting local products especially that which include healthy food.
Nawal Harriz, a supplier of Lebanese provisions (المونة اللبنانية) says: “I am beyond joyed over people’s revolutionary shift towards healthy and local goods.” She also thinks that the reason behind this shift is both the economic crisis and the pandemic which made people transition from their dependency on junk food into more healthy lifestyles.
The Chance Lebanese Producers Have Been Waiting For
Covid-19 lockdowns and the economic crisis have not only attracted customers towards local goods, but also encouraged people to see what they can further produce at home in order to obtain alternative sources of income.
Another local producer in the Souk, Minerva Akel, says: “Prior to the economic crisis, people used to love when they hear that my products are all sugar free and organic; yet when they know the price, they would take a step backwards… Now, with the inflation in the market, people are regarding my local goods as worthy of the price.”
Jamiee Haddad, communications and marketing coordinator of the Souk, insists on people to understand that even if the products are Lebanese, they are still as valuable as imported products.
“When locals are putting their time, effort and sweat into producing food and trying to make a living out of their lands, their products deserve to be of equal value to that of goods from abroad especially in the absence of the needed governmental support for local farmers,” she says.
Domestic Barriers towards Agricultural Development:
According to a report done by Carnegie Middle East Center, there are six main factors which prevent agricultural development in Lebanon:
1- There is no regulation for agricultural labor. Almost 90% of agricultural laborers work informally which implies that they do not have the needed social protection such as pensions and health coverage.
2- Most fertile agricultural lands are controlled by the top 10% landowners in Lebanon. Therefore, nearly all agricultural workers are landless which translates into land degradation and low productivity, especially since it encourages unsuitable practices that might lead to soil and water pollution.
3- Farmers also lack access to sufficient funds as neither domestic commercial banks are interested in lending resources to the agricultural sector nor does the government grant any special funds.
4- There is also a monopoly by traders and large farmers over the post-harvesting services which include sorting, grading and putting the farmers’ produce in cold storage. As a result, farmers are further denied potential income from their products by the inability to access post-harvest services.
5- Moreover, the inefficient governance of local agricultural markets make it difficult to upgrade and develop agricultural value chains domestically.
6- The Lebanese government fails to protect local producers from foreign competition which decreases the ability of domestic products in competing, albeit Lebanon has remarkably fertile lands.
