Ras el-Matn is Lebanon's biggest pine nut producer скачать в хорошем качестве

Ras el-Matn is Lebanon's biggest pine nut producer

(12 Jul 2017) LEADIN: Lebanon is one of the world's biggest pine nut producers, helping to employ hundreds of families. The largest number of pine nut producers are found in the village of Ras el-Matn. STORYLNE: The forests of Ras el-Matn hold a vital harvest for Mount Lebanon. These are pine trees and their nuts provide work for many of the local residents. Ras el-Matn produces 60 to 70 percent of Lebanon's pine nuts and around 250 families here live off income derived from the crop. Pine trader Raja Salha calls pine trees the "second symbol of Lebanon" after the Lebanese cedar. Harvesters climb up trees to pluck cones from the branches. Their haul is laid on the ground so the sunshine can open them up and reveal the precious nuts inside. It's a process that can take two months but Salha believes it's the right way to collect the harvest. "This is the traditional way which keeps the high quality of the nuts. Lebanese pine nuts are considered some of the best and finest pine species in the world, because we use traditional and natural ways in their production," he says. The dried cones are put into drums which separate the kernels from the hard exterior. The pine trees in Lebanon produce between 500 and 800 tonnes of white shelled nuts every year. Salha says he can sell a kilogramme of the commodity for between 46 and 48 US Dollars "depending on the quality, size of the nut, and the way of producing it". The industry provides jobs for a lot of women. The final stage of cleaning and sorting the nuts is normally done by the females in the family, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. Joanna Salha has been picking pine nuts for 25 years. "It is our country's production and our livelihood," she says. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...