TED Case Study Number 785, 2005 by Owais Tomhe Note: Download Mozilla Firefox for best viewing.

Baklava of Syria   ______

General Information Legal Bio-Geographical Trade Environment Other Factors

 

 

 

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I. Identification

1. The Issue:

       There is today indulging sweet loved by the peoples roaming across the Balkans and larger Mediterranean. This popular sweet is not yet, but should be a geographic indication of Syria. Thus, we shall have Syrian Baklava. More locally in the nation of Syria, it is known as Aleppo Baklava stemming from the use of red pistachios grown in the city of Aleppo. It should be known that Aleppo is not only the name for the second largest city within, but also the second most important governorate covering predominately the country’s Northwest portion. The point of focus is Syria’s desire or ability to invoke a rule protecting such products.

2. Description:

        The Turkish, the Greek, the Italian, Egyptian, and the Persian do not recognize this kind of baklava as separate from their own since they use different forms of nuts and toppings. This in turn eradicates the original authenticity and preservation of the dessert dish itself. Although unanimously sweet, Syrian Baklava is different in flavor, texture, and shape. More so, there is not much notoriety in the realms of property rights, trademarks, or trade flow data. This study serves to educate the public and opinionate strategies in providing and defending this geographic indication appropriately. One should construe Greek, Italian, Egyptian, and Persian Baklava as different species. Yet Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine “the other Arab countries in the Levant,” need not be at fault so much in their use of different pistachios than Red Aleppo, for these three countries fell into a land known as greater Syria before imperialism and colonialism created nation-states back in the early to mid 20th century. The motivational factor is that most do not associate Baklava with Syria. Seldom stressed yet pertinent nonetheless, this website shares how baklava is regarded as a culturally accepted tradition in weddings and large gatherings. In addition, there are researched environmental implications such as urbanization and irrigation flow reduction that indicate why production has been limited over the last decade. In order to provide a more concrete analysis of the geographic indication, legal clusters involving the discourse, status, forum, scope, standings will be mentioned. Before closing off with citations and bibliography, a short introduction to Syria’s climate, habitat and then a display of trade date will be presented.

        According to the Food Down Under culinary glossary online database, baklava is very sweet dessert pastry made of layers of flaky pastry filled with a mixture of ground nuts and sugar. It must be sliced after baked and it must be brushed with a sweet syrup. What many don’t know is that baklava dates back to the 8th century BC when the Assyrian Empire was on its way to diminishing. The reason it is Syrian authentically is because baklava, by nature in the Near East, required a pistachio called Red Aleppo that originated from a place called “Halab.” Halab translates to English as Aleppo. The name of the pistachio deduces its nomenclature from its birthplace and color. The pistachio is uniquely red. Important tenants of this pistachio filled pastry are its identity in a social context, cultural significance, environmental climate, urbanization, and a large export trade internationally reckoned.

3. Related Cases: (Links)

4. Author and Date: Owais Tomhe, May 2005

II. Legal Clusters

    
        On the subject of intellectual property rights, it is crucial to understand that surrounding countries of the nation-state dispute the inheritance of ownership of baklava to any other but their own. For example, as this is a motif of my case study, Greece claims that they were the creators of this dessert pastry, the Turks mock all others who hint at its entitlement, and Armenia and the neighboring Arab states of Jordan and Lebanon lay claim as well. Syria maintains that baklava is its own geographic indication, in that Syrians constitute legitimate baklava to be that with the crisp taste of red pistachio only found in Aleppo. This issue of intellectual property rights cannot be unnoticed when it comes to the manufacturing and exporting of this product. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as well as the WTO in Articles 22 to 24 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have established international rules and regulations in order to lawfully protect geographic indications. One notable reason why Syria has not become a WTO member is because the 148 current members do not unanimously believe that Syria is working hard enough to comply with the established regulations on IP rights. (Thus, deterring Syria’s economic success.)

              
5. Discourse and Status: Disagreement and Allegation

        When examining a country’s export and import potential, one must incorporate the interests of the nation to preserve domestic economic stability and development. The manufacturing of baklava and Aleppo pistachio cultivation are two examples of Syrian protectionism in the form of agricultural subsidies. More specifically, Syria wants to protect its original form of baklava from other countries production of the pastry. This in turn would generate less competition resulting in more Syrian exports of baklava. However, the elimination of agricultural subsidies has been a central issue in the Uruguay Round and currently in the Doha Round. During the Uruguay Round, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures was agreed upon by members of the WTO. This agreement resulted in new regulations on a country’s ability to use subsidies and has led to a gradual reduction in trade barriers. However, there are many loopholes in which developed countries hinder equilateral trade in their favor at the expense of LDCs (least developed countries) which rely on exports of agriculture to sustain their economies. The above has affected Syrian production of baklava in two ways: 1) it has forced the Syrian government to increase the price of their agricultural products in order to offset the limitations on subsidies, and 2) it is difficult for Syria to export agricultural products due to other country’s implementation of agricultural subsidies and import barriers.

6. Forum and Scope: Syrian Arab Republic and Unilateral

        There are a few ambiguities in the WTO’s regulations that allow countries to impose import barriers in order to protect their domestic markets. An example is the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures on health and safety. If a government scientifically deems a product is unhealthy or unsafe for its citizens, it can legally ban the product from entering its borders, provided they do not discriminate or use this as disguised protectionism. Syria is one of the top five pistachio producing countries in the world, however much of Syria’s land is prone to drought and infertile soils. Over usage of land has led to expensive irrigation purposes from the Orontes River in the southeastern city of Hama. Furthermore, the numerous varieties of Syrian pistachios are in line for extinction due to urbanization and the spread of genetically altered variations. This agreement has produced various disputes on the classification of unhealthy or unsafe products which include; the genetic altering of food and the variations of labels, packaging, and transportation guidelines. It is a hypothetical possibility that legal disputes over the cultivation of pistachios could occur under this agreement, reducing Syrian exports.

        The impediments detailed above, as well as a growing number of political concerns in recent weeks, drastically decreases the ability of Syria to export products as in the case study of baklava and Aleppo pistachios. Syria’s ability to become a member of the WTO and other international organizations has been hindered by the recent alleged ties to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the teetering relationship it has with the United States due to its close relationship with Iran and Hezbollah. However, Syria’s troop withdrawal from Lebanon and increased economic regulation should ensure that better relationships (primarily economic in this context) with the West shall result. Furthermore, these relationships could create a higher potential for economic success and future WTO membership, through the implementation of the gradual reduction of economic sanctions, trade barriers, and agricultural subsidies.

7. Decision Breadth: One (Syria)

        In terms of legal disputes on Syrian baklava and Aleppo pistachios, the three main concerns are: intellectual property, agricultural subsidies and import barriers, as well as health and safety in regards to cultivation and trading. When speaking about the country’s legal framework of trade, it is pertinent to identify the nation’s membership to the following international bodies: the United Nations (UN) and its main specialized institutions, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Arab League. At this time Syria is not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) however, due to the overwhelming economic desirability of becoming a member, it has begun implementing changes in its trade policy that are slowly affecting bilateral and multilateral relationships. Thus, many of Syria’s trade practices are currently contingent with the rules and regulations of the WTO. The ability for Syria to export its agricultural products is essential to the economic welfare of the state. The bulk of Syrian exports are primary-level products including; crude oil, raw cotton, clothing, fruits, and grains. In recent years, the Syrian government has prioritized its economic development into its agricultural sectors in order to achieve food self-sufficiency and to improve export earnings. The Syrian government has also taken steps to further liberalize its economy through the establishment of a ‘neighboring country exchange rate’ and trade agreements with countries such as bordering Arab states and the European Union. Thus, the ability for Syria to remain competitive in its exportation of agricultural goods, in this case baklava and Aleppo pistachios, is crucial to its economic stability. However, the ability of Syria to remain economically competitive in its exportation of baklava is still in question.

8. Legal Standing: Law

        At this point, the focus is Syria's desire and ability to invoke a rule protecting such agricultural products as the red Aleppo pistachio and the resultant manufactured food products.

III. Geographic Clusters

9. Geographic Locations

        Syria has hot, dry, and sunny climates in the summer (May to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February). Most of the fertile lands are nearer to the coasts. Syria borders 605 km with Iraq, 76 km with Israel, roughly 375 km each with Jordan and Lebanon, and 822 km with Turkey to its north. Regarding its terrain, it is primarily semiarid and a desert plateau with a narrow coastal plain. Mountains exist in the west separating the country from its neighbors. Its natural resources are petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, and gypsum. The Orontes River provides much of the lands’ fertility as well as its northwestern border to the Mediterranean Sea. Syria has a total land area of 185,180 sq km and 1,130 sq km of water. CIA world fact book declares Syria is roughly twice the size of North Dakota. Regarding portion of fertile land, 28% of Syria is arable. An estimate of 9,060 sq km of land is currently irrigated.

        Agriculture remains a vital sector of the Syrian Economy; supplying necessary products for the industrial sector and employing over 25% of the labor force. “The government’s revitalization efforts have cast a new light on the sector which has continued to produce bumper crops.” The agriculture sector captures roughly 30% of GDP which is a 10% increase over the last decade. The ministry stated that four consecutive bumper cereal harvests in 1991-1994 and a 10.2% annual increase in agricultural production between the past decade illustrates the concentrated effort the Syrian government has made to strive in further revitalizing the agricultural sector.

 

a. Geographic Domain: Middle East

b. Geographic Site: Mideast Asia

c. Geographic Impact: Syria

 

10. Sub-National Factors: Yes

11. Type of Habitat: Dry

IV. Trade Clusters

Part One:          

Part Two:

        In trying to indicate the trade measure or measures relevant to the case, an influencing increase (6 year terms in agriculture sales) in millions of dollars explain how Syrian foreign trade and policies for imports and exports function in relation to the Agriculture sector (coming in a close 2nd behind crude oil in terms of leading annual contributors to real GDP) and Food Product Industry.

        The most recent average tariff rate documented was from the World Bank two years ago indicating 11.2 percent (based on international trade taxes as a percent of total imports). Our Department of State in the online Consular section mentions, “Customs procedures are cumbersome, tedious, and time-consuming because of complex regulations. Producers often complain that it may take up to six months to import spare parts for their plant.” You can notice a difference in the marked values below by the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Trade between the imports and exports indicating the effect resulted by the imposed levies and tolls.

Part Three:

        Since the quantity and value of each of the top 10 leading exporters and importers with regards to red Aleppo Pistachio is nearly impossible to find, I am going to cite relevant economic and financial information from the Energy Information Administration website. The site has a country profile of Syria and also indicates the top ten which will be posted last. It should be known that the Top Ten also have a fairly large expatriate population of Syrians. It could be argued that this is a cultural implication by the Mediterranean treat a societal norm when it comes to dessert.

12. Type of Measure: Intellectual Property (Geographical Indications)

13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Direct

14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact:

a. Directly Related to Product: Yes, Baklava

b. Indirectly Related to Product: Yes, Red Aleppo Pistachios

c. Not Related to Product: No

d. Related to Process: Intellectual Property

15. Trade Product Identification: Syrian Baklava

16. Economic Data:

17. Impact of Trade Restriction: Low

18. Industry Sector: Agriculture, Trade

        Because it belongs to Bread, Cake, and Related Products, it falls under SIC (Standard Industrial Classification number) 2051 and NAICS (North American Industrial Classification) number 311 812.

19. Exporters and Importers: Syria and Many (Argentina, Venezuela, New Zealand, Australia, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China, South Korea, Jordan, UK, Germany, Canada, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, France, Spain, Algeria, Iran, and the United States)

V. Environment Clusters

        In the Khanasser Valley, about 45 miles southeast of the city of Aleppo, Red Aleppo pistachio farmers deal with productivity issues of both the land and crop as well as market competition.  Since baklava production is a booming business, it’s a recurring dilemma for farmers eager to expand their cultivation of pistachio. They need to invest in irrigation equipment to increase income, but the side effects of using new machinery could make their land unproductive. In that land of the Fertile Crescent, good water available for volume irrigation in dry areas is very limited. Once an aquifer in a low-rainfall area has given up its stored content of sweet water, there is a risk of it being refilled from less pleasant sources like irrigation pumps for example. Now this has consequences in the richness and productivity of crops in general. Bringing in machines has been yielding excellent numbers of crops, but the taste and texture of the crops are experiencing differences. Unfortunately, there is more of an emphasis on yielding numbers of pistachios as opposed to the quality of the crop. Since these pieces of equipment are so expensive for the rural farmers, large business owners in major cities of the country (inner Aleppo and Damascus) are funding specific farmer families who own the largest hectares in the Valley with up-to date irrigation technology.

          Furthermore, pressure on land resources due to increasing population leads to deprivation if the carrying capacity of land is exceeded. “Without the development of appropriate land- use practices, long-term overuse of land may irreversibly destroy its potential for production.” In dealing with this, intensification of production of the land is used as an alternative to accommodate this increased pressure on the resources. What this means is that a smaller amount of land is used more intensively (keeping in mind that it is cared for more intensively). The most important factor in yielding red Aleppo pistachio is soil moisture, especially in the drier areas of the valley. Therefore, intensification has been more based on moisture conservation and irrigation. These are the kinds of conditions that northern Syrian farmers and their families have to deal with in keeping the business of Baklava booming in the cultivation of red Aleppo pistachios.

20. Environmental Problem Type: Cultural

21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species: The Pistachio Tree

Name: PISTACIA VERA

Type: Plant (Nut)

22. Resource Impact and Effect: Low and Product

23. Urgency and Lifetime: Low and 20 - 25 Years

24. Substitutes: Like Nuts! (Part of walnut, almond, hazelnut, and chestnut family)

VI. Other Factors

25. Culture: YES

26. Trans-Boundary Issues: No

27. Rights: No

28. Relevant Literature: YES

Texts:

I. Richardson, Tim. Sweets. New York: Neil Gower Inc., 2002.

II. The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. “Review of Agriculture
in the Dry Areas.” ICARDA Caravan: 11, Summer/Autumn 2004. http://www.icarda.cgiar.org/Caravan.htm

III. Zubaida, Sami and Richard Tapper. Culinary Cultures of the Middle East. New York: Tauris
Publishings, 1994.

Web:

1. “Assyrien.” http://www.visarkiv.se/mmm/media/assyrien/intro-e.htm

2. Block, Stephen. “History of Baklava.” http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Baklava.htm

3. Davidson, Alan. “Baklava and Filo.” http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html#baklava

4. “Exports.” http://www.syrecon.org/main_frame.html

5. “Featured Writings.” http://www.jaffasweets.com/awards.htm

6. Habeeb. “Gourmet Baklava.” http://www.gourmetbaklava.com/history.of.baklava.html

7. “Info Production Research-Syria.” http://www.infoprod.co.il/country/syria.htm

8. “Muslim Trade Network-Syria.” http://www.muslimtrade.net/tradeguideline/syria/

9. Peters, A. “Pistacia vera L. Anacardiaceae.” http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pistachio.html

10. “Quantitative Geographical/Environmental Data.” http://www.syriagate.com/

11. “Syria-Economy.” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/syria/economy.htm

12. The World Intellectual Property Organization. “Geographical Indications.”
http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/about_geographical_ind.html#P16_1100

13. The World Trade Organization. “Countries and Multilateral System-Syria.”
http://www.wto.org/trade_resources/quotes/mts/system.htm

14. Tous, Joan and Louise Ferguson. “Mediterranean Fruit Crops.”
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-416.html

15. “Trade.” www.made-in-syria.com/syrian/economy

16. “TRADE & ENVIRONMENT DATABASE.” http://www.american.edu/ted

17. “United Nations-Syrian Arab Republic.” http://www.un.org.sy/index.php

18. “World Factbook.” http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sy.html

19. “World on a Plate.” http://worldonaplate.blogs.com/world_on_a_plate/2004/08/

20. Wright, Clifford. “Baklava.” http://www.cliffordawright.com/history/gt_question.html

Photos:

• “Aleppo Castle.” http://almashriq.hiof.no/syria/900/910/919/aleppo/index.html

• “Baklava.” Shatila Food Products. http://www.shatila.com/

• “Freefoto.” http://www.freefoto.com/index.jsp

• “Free Graphics for your Webpage.” http://mem.tcon.net/dorothy/

• “International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.” http://www.icarda.cgiar.org/Caravan.htm

• “International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.” http://ipgri-pa.grinfo.net/index.php?itemid=84

• “Map of Aleppo.” http://www.britannica.com/

• Nabil Nafisa. “Syrian Baklava Vendor.” http://www.sourianet.com/nabilnafisakousur/

• “Pistachio Flour.” Albert Uster Imports http://www.auiswiss.com/

• “Pistachio Nuts.” http://12121.hostinguk.com/spicephotos.htm

• “Sam's Bakery - Home of the World's Best Baklava.” www.samsbakery.com

• Styczynski, Mary-Frances. “The Pistachio Nut Case.”http://www.american.edu/TED/pistachio.htm

• Zenbarakji Sweets. “Syrian Baklava Vendor.” http://www.sourianet.com/zenbarakji/

6/2005 © Owais Tomhe