DAMMAM, 19 September 2003 — A Saudi official has denied reports that Israeli mangoes have entered the Saudi market. The official said that the government had plans and procedures in operation which stopped Israeli products from entering the Kingdom.
Muhammad Al-Shawi, director general at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in the Eastern Province, told Arab News that there were no indications that Israeli products entered the Saudi market. “However, we take all necessary steps to prevent this from happening,” he added.
A source at the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture had earlier admitted to the media that Israel exports various products, including mangoes, to Jordan where they were repackaged and sent to other Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Syria. “There is a huge demand for mangoes in Arab countries,” the Israeli source explained.
Al-Shawi said there was a Saudi blacklist containing a number of international and Arab companies who had broken Saudi regulations by repackaging Israeli products and sending them to Saudi markets.
“Any company breaking the law will be added immediately to the blacklist, and this means no more deals with it and its goods will not be allowed in Saudi Arabia again,” he said.
