Saudi Arabia lifts ban on Egyptian onion

CAIRO - 26 May 2019: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture lifted the ban on importing onions from Egypt after negotiations between the two sides.

According to a statement issued by the Central Department of Agricultural Quarantine at the Egyptian Agriculture Ministry, an Egyptian delegation visited Saudi Arabia last month to resolve this crisis, which comes within the framework of the good relations between the two brotherly countries.

In April 2018, The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) lifted the ban on imports of Egyptian strawberries and peppers to Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the SFDA also decided to lift the temporary ban on imports of Egyptian frozen guava to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

In December 2017, Saudi Arabia banned importing frozen guava from Egypt because pesticide residues exceeded global standards.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Safwat al-Haddad said that talks with the kingdom would be resumed to lift the ban off fresh guava according to the regulations set by the SFDA.

Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Jordan have recently lifted their bans off imports of Egyptian lettuce, guava, onions, pepper and potatoes, which were suspended because of their high pesticide residues.

Exports of agricultural products decreased in January 2018 to $200 million, compared to $217 million in the same month of 2017 – a decrease of 8 percent.

In 2017, agricultural exports jumped 3 percent to $2.2 billion, compared to $2.1 billion in 2016.

Additional Report with Hanan Mohamed