‘Olives, carob syrup and grapes added to Green Line regulation’  

A number of items produced in the north have been added to the Green Line Regulation, reports said on Thursday.

Citing Turkish Cypriot media, the Press and Information Office said that after talks held with the European Commission, the north’s Shopkeepers, Artisans and Producers Marketing Cooperative (Ezkoop) will be able to trade in processed products like olives, carob syrup and grapes through the ‘Green Line’.

The Turkish Cypriot cooperative was founded in 2017.

The general secretary of the cooperative, Ersun Aytac, told media that following a 1994 decision by the European Court of Justice, even when products from the north were exported to countries like Austria and England, the items were subject to tariffs of up to 16 per cent.

Until recently, Aytac said, the export of olives, carob and grapes was not permitted under the Green Liner Regulation; but that with their inclusion now, customs duties would be abolished.

Aytac said that initially the north would export olive oil, noting that such initiatives “give a ray of hope” to producers.

For his part, Hürrem Tulga, chairman of the same cooperative, said that demand for these products from the south has grown since the items were added to the Green Line Regulation

The Green Line Regulation provides for trade in goods produced in the north.

According to the European Commission’s report for 2020 on the implementation of the Green Line Regulation, the Republic of Cyprus reported that the total trade value of goods with accompanying documents which actually crossed the Line dipped by 14 per cent to €4,693,898.

Trade from the government-controlled areas to the northern part of Cyprus represented 14.8 per cent of the trade in the opposite direction (13.7 per cent in 2019).