Saudi Arabia's produce ban sends Lebanon a political message
The ban has been viewed as collective punishment at a time of economic crisis. [Getty]
Date of publication:
5 May,
2021
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In another hit to Lebanon's agricultural sector amid the country's economic crisis, Saudi Arabia announced in late April that it would ban the import of fruit and vegetables after authorities seized more than 5.3 million Captagon pills that were hidden in a pomegranate consignment.
In the past six years, Saudi authorities say they have seized 600 million pills and hundreds of kilograms of Captagon coming from Lebanon.
"The quantities that were thwarted are enough to drown the entire Arab world, not just Saudi Arabia, in narcotics and psychotropic substances," Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari tweeted.