Lebanese fear fruit and vegetables going to waste with Saudi market shut

A farmer holds lettuce as he stands in a lettuce field in Rayak, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, May 10, 2021. Picture taken May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon (Reuters) - Fruit is ripening and vegetables are shooting up in Lebanon's lush Bekaa Valley, but the head of the region's farmers' syndicate, Ibrahim Tarshishy, is still a worried man.

Saudi Arabia's ban on imports of Lebanese agricultural produce, imposed in April over drug smuggling, has shut a major market for Lebanese farmers who grow everything from lettuce and onions to cherries and peaches. There is no sign yet of an end.