Trade Agreement with Egypt Will Not Materially Improve Palestine Food Situation

Despite the trade agreement just concluded between Egypt and Palestine, the food situation here will not be materially improved, informed sources painted out today. Because of prior commitments to the Middle East Supply Center, Egypt is unable to provide the foods which Palestine needs to raise nutritional standards, such as wheat, rice and sugar. Some barley, bran and small quantities of secondary foodstuffs will be shipped and the conference agreed that the shipments would be increased when conditions warrant.

For its basic food requirements, Palestine will have to turn to the Middle East Supply Center, which controls most of the available food supplies in this area. It is reported that Palestine food authorities will open talks with Supply Center authorities this week-end where they will discuss the possibility of importing larger quantities of essential foods. They will probably also discuss with the supply officials the question of clearance for raw materials which Egypt is willing to expert if approval is granted.

The principal commodity which Palestine will export to Egypt will be oranges. The Egyptian mission spoke of importing “considerable quantities,” but as yet no definite amount has been fixed. Local citrus growers, faced with the loss of the present bumper crop, are anxiously awaiting official word on what relief they can expect. In the meantime they have postponed an emergency conference called to discuss the crisis in the industry.

Another export to Egypt will be pharmaceutical products, which it needs badly, and also some manufactures which are produced in Egypt in only limited quantities. Export of the latter depends on whether Palestine producers can offer the Egyptians a satisfactory price. This involves the whole question of the high production casts here, which are the result of the inflationary rise in the cost of living. The Middle East Supply Center will also have to approve Palestine imports of raw materials, in order to make possible the export of manufactured items to Egypt. Included are materials from the United States which are used in the manufacture of atabrine which is needed to combat a malaria epidemic now raging in upper Egypt.