Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 98)
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- عنوان
- Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 98)
- المحتوى
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184
Table (Vv - 9)
Volume of international trade 1978
Imports from Excess of Imports
Inports = Excess of Imports.
(Million Jordan Dinars)
Exports to
63.8
Israel 27.3 91-1
Jordan 16.8 1.5 7153
12.5
Other countries 0.3 12.8
Total 44.4 105.4 61.0
Source: Derived from Statistical Abstract of Israel 1980, op. cit.,
p. 685. Exchange rate for 1979 is averaged at IL83.9 per
Jordan Dinar.
The consequences of the West Bank's constricted trade relations are
Pervasive and quite fundamental. Local producers have had to enter
into competition with aggressive and better qualified Israeli producers.
Epectedly, this has caused major problems for most kinds of
business activity, particularly capital intensive enterprises.
In contrast, Israel has suddenly had at its disposal a large, very
Close, and totally unprotected market which could not have come at
@ better time. The occupied territories have in fact become such a
Signi ficant market for Israel that they receive about one fifth of
ll its exports, ranking next only to the United States and
ceeding half of Israel's exports to all EEC countries combined. !
Internal trade is similarly faced with numerous problems which have
Saused a sharp decline in what had been an unusually flourishing
S@ctor. Businessmen have to cope with a variety of continuously
Tsing taxes. Most of them are not capable of maintaining
‘Ufficiently accurate accounts and there is evidence that this is
of
ten taken by customspersonnel as a reason to impose unduly high
ee
Derived from trade data in the Statistical Abstract of Israel 1978,
1D
levies. Trade has further deteriorated, as we shall see in the
next
section, due to a number of problems arising from financial
transformations.
The development of West Bank agriculture has a strong bearing on the
constraints imposed by existing trading relations with its two
neighbours, Jordan and Israel. at present, Palestinians can only
expect some limited assistance from Jordan, whereas Israel cannot be
expected, as long as it can do so, to forego itsvaluable trading
interests in the occupied territories. Accordingly, Palestinian
Planners have to relate their strategies to alternative political
Scenarios with markedly different economic ramifications. This aspect
will be explored in a separate section.
Agricultural Trade
Traditionally, the West Bank has been a net exporter of agricultural
Commodities. During Jordanian rule, it was a major supplier of
Several farm products, notably olive oil, citrus, vegtables, grapes
and bananas. Much of its surplus was marketed in the East Hank of
Yordan and the Gulf States. On the other hand, the West Bank was
Self-sufficient in mutton, broiler meat and eggs, but it had to rely
heavily on imports for beef, fish and milk powder.
The terms of agricultural trade changed drastically in the post-
°ccupation era. Foremost, the West Bank became open to subsidized
Teraeni products enjoying all the benefits of scale. Conversely, the
‘low of Arab produce to Israeli markets was subjected to severe
x
*Striction arising from protectionist policies.
spite radical transformations in the terms of trade during the
*8tsccupation era, the West Bank's agriculture continued to occupy - تاريخ
- ١٩٨٢
- المنشئ
- Hisham Masoud Awartani
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