Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Lebanon

Do you have a Fresh Fruits & Vegetables business in Lebanon? Are you interested in exporting to different international markets? If you are, CBI’s Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Lebanon project offers you good opportunities:

• Find out which opportunities there are for your company on the European, the Russian, the Gulf and the Southeast Asian markets;
• Learn more about requirements, legislation and certification;
• Learn everything you need to know to be a successful exporter;
• Get support and assistance from our sector expert;
• Exhibit at leading international trade fairs.

Project details

This project will start late 2019 and will end in 2023. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetables industry is booming. Healthy and convenient living trends are boosting the consumption of fruit and vegetables and exotic fruits and vegetables are becoming more and more popular. Lebanon offers a wide range of fruit and vegetables. Some of these crops, such as avocados, have great potential on the European market. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Russia offer opportunities for a wider range of products from Lebanon (for example, table grapes, citrus, pome fruit, stone fruit, potatoes and other vegetables). The goal of this project is to help Lebanon’s strong horticulture sector to do more business in these international markets.

What can you expect from this CBI project?

• 4 year company coaching by different international and local specialists;
• Assistance with the creation of an international market strategy;
• Assistance in what certification is suitable to your market entry strategy;
• Assistance with improving your responsible business behavior;
• A market orientation mission to the European market;
• Participation in different international trade fairs;
• Complementary training on specific topics such as trade fair participation and CSR.

What do we expect from our participants?

• A pro-active and flexible attitude;
• Commitment to the activities and external coaching for 4 years;
• Commitment and sufficient time investment to the tailor made action plan for your company;
• Compliance or the willingness to comply with international market requirements;
• Commitment and willingness to invest in improving CSR practices in your company;
• Ambition and motivation to take the next step with your company;
• Willingness and ability to invest in your company and in international market entry, both in terms of staff allocation and in necessary adaptations of your products, production and export marketing. This concerns, among others, part of the costs of the trade fair participation which are not covered by CBI and its partners (like cost of traveling, lodging etc.). More detailed estimation of investment required will be discussed with the company during the company assessment/selection phase since this is company specific.

Who can apply?

Country: Lebanon Sector: Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Eligible products: All types of Fresh Fruits and Fresh Vegetables

Company requirements: You can apply for this project if your company meets these requirements:

• Type of company: - Exporters which are also a producer - Exporters with close relationships with its producers
• Size: Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs): - Exporters-Producers: 25-500 employees - Exporters without own production: 5-50 employees
• At least 51% locally owned
• No joint venture with a company based in a non-developing country
• No licensing commitments that prohibit or limit export possibilities of products to the EU
• Competitive prices and sufficient production capacity
• Management which is able to communicate in English

Partners

Our main partners in this project are:

• René Moawad Foundation (RMF) Parallel to the CBI project, the René Moawad Foundation (RMF) is implementing a project aimed at strengthening exports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon to European and Regional Markets that started in August 2019 and will conclude in December 2022. Part of this project is to enhance the capacities of exporters and post-handling facilities. Therefore, there is a great link between the two projects: RMF focusing on the technical side of the business (such as post-harvest issues, cold chain management and GlobalGAP-certification) and CBI focusing on the managerial and strategic aspects. However, the scope of the RMF project is wider, since it also targets farmers to produce improved and competitive agricultural products that comply with European and regional markets requirements. Therefore, CBI and RMF recommend exporters to apply for both projects to get maximum benefit out of the available assistance.
• Four Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon - Beirut and Mount Lebanon - Bekaa / Zahle - South / Sidon - North / Tripoli

CBI will assist the four Chambers in further professionalising their operations to become more effective in their service delivery towards the exporting community.

CBI will work with these and also with other potential organisations to strengthen export companies. Together we will also work on the creation of a Sector Export Marketing Plan aimed at addressing the challenges in the sector and on the improvement of sector branding. This will aid the Lebanese Fresh Fruits & Vegetables sector to become better known on international markets.