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No exports allowed out of the OPT, losses estimated at USD 500,000 a day

Geneva, March 24 (KUNA) - The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) said Friday that no exports have been permitted to leave in the last three days which continues to have a detrimental affect on the local Palestinian economy.

The inability to export local agricultural produce at the height of the harvesting season has led to hundreds of tones of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries going to waste.

The Palestine Economic Development Company (PED) operating the greenhouses in the former settlement areas estimates that the total amount of crops donated/destroyed due to the closures at Karni equals approximately 973 tones, with about a value of USD 5.2 million.

Total export losses for both agricultural and non perishable items are estimated at USD 500,000/day or more than USD 23 million in 2006.

As of Thursday supplies of wheat, flour, vegetable oil and fresh fruit are now entering the Gaza Strip following the partial reopening of the Karni crossing on 20 March.

UN OCHA spokesperson Elizabeth Byrs said that in addition the Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza-Israel-Egyptian border is now open for limited amounts of humanitarian assistance originating from Egypt and as of mid-day Thursday six trucks laden with flour had entered Gaza.

"Some bakeries are now baking bread again after most were closed over the weekend. The few bakeries that remained open experienced long queues outside, and rationing had been introduced," she added.

According to UN OCHA the current shortages of basic essential supplies have arisen because Karni crossing (al Muntar) - the commercial crossing for imported and exported goods from Israel has been partially open for only eight days since 22 February.

It was previously shut between 15 January and 4 February meaning only very limited amounts of replacement stocks have been able to enter the Gaza Strip for over two months now.

As of 23 March, Karni crossing has been closed 46 days in 2006 or 56% of the year. In comparison, Karni was closed for a total of 18% of the year of 2005 and 19% of the year in 2004. Without a period of prolonged and uninterrupted opening at Karni, shortages and rationing of basic food commodities will remain of constant concern to the 1.3 million Gazan population.

While Karem Shalom has been declared open by the Israeli authorities since Tuesday, 21 March for the receipt of humanitarian supplies from Egypt, only two trucks laden with flour (around 50 tones) arrived into the Gaza Strip on 22 March.

As of mid-day on 23 March a further six trucks of humanitarian assistance had crossed from Egypt into Kerem Shalom and of this number, four had continued down a three kilometer stretch of the former Israeli-controlled Philidelphi corridor and entered the Gaza Strip by a road to the east of Rafah passenger terminal.

Palestinian officials at the Rafah passenger crossing informed that delays had occurred on Tuesday as the humanitarian assistance that had arrived in Egypt had not been palletised which is a requirement by the Israelis for all produce entering Kerem Shalom.

Consequently on Wednesday night the Egyptians ensured that the flour on 12 trucks had been pre-palletised in order to speed up the process of delivery to the Gazan population.

All pallets arriving on trucks from Egypt are downloaded in Kerem Shalom and the trucks then return across the border after which Palestinian trucks upload the supplies and continue into Gaza .

A total of 250 trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are en route to Rafah of which 50 have now arrived on the Egyptian side of the border.

Concerns remain at the capacity of Kerem Shalom to deal with the large quantities and volumes of relief supplies expected at the border.

Palestinian officials at the Rafah passenger crossing states that on the basis of this morning's experience it will take approximately 45 minutes to turn around each truck load in terms of it arriving in Kerem Shalom from the Egyptian border to being downloaded and then continuing onwards to Gaza.

On this basis and assuming an eight hour working day it is unlikely that more than 15 truckloads will cross daily. Israeli authorities however estimate that closer to 50 truckloads will cross daily.

Approximately 250 trucks loaded with 5,000 tones of flour, 500 tones of rice and 960 tones of sugar from Egypt are currently en route to Kerem Shalom of which 50 are now waiting at the Egyptian border.

Kerem Shalom is expected to be open between 8am and 2 pm on Friday to continue processing the aid supplies.

Capacity concerns are justified at Kerem Shalom when it is compared with the 176 truckloads that were capable of being processed at Karni this morning between 9.20am and 2pm , and not least when Karni is not even functioning at full capacity. (end)

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