The Media Spokesman for the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Fawzi Wadi, told Libya Herald in an exclusive interview, that Mohamed Hwej, the Tripoli based Libyan Minister of Economy and Trade, issued a decision (635/23) Thursday to ban the import of new and used home furniture from France.
The ban, he explained, comes against the backdrop of the wide and unprecedented spread of bedbugs in France.
Wadi said the text of the decision in its first article bans the import of all types of new and used furniture and furnishings of French origin and prohibits their entry through all customs ports in the Libyan state for a period of three months, which can be extended.
The decision also directed, in its second article, the Customs Authority not to release any imported shipments of furniture and furnishings from any country except after taking preventive measures and ensuring that they are free of carriers of harmful insects and pests.
Wadi pointed out that the Ministry of Economy and Trade asked the Director General of the Customs Authority to take all urgent measures not to release furniture and furnishings imported from France, before decision 635/23 was issued.
Wadi attributed this decision to the prevention of the spread of bedbugs in accordance with the recommendations issued by experts and specialists in environmental sanitation, with the possibility of their arrival through furniture, whether new or used, imported from France. The ban may be imposed on other countries if this insect spreads there.
