Sugar and cans previously were transported to West Bank bottlers from Jordan via the bridge, according to Hatim Omari, manager of a plant that bottles Pepsi, 7UP and Mirinda for sale in the Palestinian territories and neighboring countries. GAZA, WEST BANK COSTS SOARThe bottlers are the latest businesses to be hit by supply chain disruptions due to the conflict in the Middle East over the past year. “You need sugar, you need cans, you need people, you need electricity, and it’s all being disrupted.”The cost of doing business in the Palestinian territories is roughly five times greater than in surrounding countries, according to Hindi, manager of the Coke bottler in the West Bank. High unemployment in the densely populated West Bank, where he said Pepsi is a dominant cola, hurts local families’ ability to buy Pepsi drinks, he said. A partly-damaged Pepsi bottling plant ceased operations last October, a spokesperson for the plant said.

Source: The Star October 18, 2024 05:15 UTC