[The impact of GAFTA implementation on the most important fruits and vegetable crops in Syria]

The aim of this research is to assess the impact of GAFTA on the trade of tomato, potato, orange, and apple which are considered the most important Syrian fruits and vegetable crops, by using dummy variables through the time series that last from 1994 (four years before the implementation of GAFTA) to the year 2010 (six years after the full implementation of GAFTA). The research shows that GAFTA had no significant impact on any of the studied commodities through the transitional phase (1998- 2004), while it had a positive significant impact on all of these commodities (except the potato exports' quantity) after the full implementation stage (2005-2010). The GAFTA impact on tomato and orange imports was bigger than its impact on their exports, due to the import preventing of these commodities before the agreement .on the other hand, Syrian exports of these crops were specialized in the region markets even before the start of GAFTA implementation. The GAFTA impact was bigger on apple exports than its imports, as a result of the decline in domestic demand for apple and preferring other fruits. As for potato the GAFTA impact was weak on the imports and export of this commodity, and that's mainly a result of the fluctuation in the quantity of Syrian production of potato which is influenced by climatic factors, provided services, and the quality of the used seeds. In order to identify the obstacles which face fruits and vegetables Syrian exporters and importers in the Arabic markets, a questionnaire was designed for the exporters and importers community in Damascus (where the most of the packaging factories are centered), and in Tartous. The total number of the questionnaires was twenty. Statistical indicators were used to clarify the importance of these obstacles (such as frequencies and percentages), which showed that the most important obstacles faced the exporters were: the government support was not enough, the weakness of publicity and promotion, the differences in standers and specifications between the Arab countries, the rejection for some shipments from the Arab countries, beside the intense competition they face in these markets. As for imports' obstacles they were few comparing with the exporters' ones, and their most important obstacles were :the Arabic certificate of origin and the low of the imports' quality from the Arab countries. In another hand the important 124 common obstacles that faced both exports and imports were: the sudden changes in the trade laws and legislations, the high transportation costs between the Arab countries, beside the absence of a governmental entity that guarantee the Syrian traders' rights. The research recommended to establish like this agreement with other regional countries out of the Arab area, in which, geographic nearness has played a big role in increasing trade. Also, Giving enough governmental support to the exporters and improving the Syrian products' competitiveness in the external markets, will upgrade Syrian fruits and vegetables in these markets.