Lebanese produce in limbo with Saudi Arabia market closed - in pictures

The ban on imports of Lebanese agricultural produce was imposed in April over drug smuggling

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  Hussein Madbouh shows off lettuces from a field in Rayak, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Reuters

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  Saudi Arabia's ban on imports of Lebanese agricultural produce, imposed in April over drug smuggling, closed a major market for Lebanese farmers, who grow everything from lettuce and onions to cherries and peaches. Reuters

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  Lebanon's fruit and vegetable exports usually totalled about 400,000 tonnes a year, with about a quarter destined for Saudi Arabia or going via the kingdom to other Gulf states. Reuters

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  A collapse in the Lebanese pound means farmers have greater need than ever for export dollars to buy fertiliser and other raw materials. Reuters

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  Workers in a lettuce field in Rayak, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Reuters

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  The Saudi market for Lebanon's exports and transit is worth $24 million a year. Reuters

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  The price of lettuce, with its short shelf life, fell by half, forcing some farmers to sell the produce for animal feed. Reuters

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  Every day that passes with the Saudi ban still in place means more financial pain for Lebanon's farmers. Reuters

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