Lebanon has lost more than $150 million in exports through its land crossing with Syria since the beginning of the year, state-run National News Agency said, citing Khaled Farshoukh, head of the Export Development Council.
Farshoukh said 40 percent of Lebanon’s exports travel through Syria, the country’s only land access, the news agency reported today. The last few months have seen the sharpest drop in exports, with the number of trucks crossing the border falling to 50 from about 300 a day, he said.
Exporters are having a hard time finding trucks willing to carry goods across Syria, where an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad has made the roads unsafe, he said.
“This has raised transport fees by about 50 percent,” the news agency quoted him as saying. “Many insurance companies have refused to issue policies on trucks, while some have raised their fees more than ninefold.”
Business week
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.