Gaza soda bottler opens West Bank site to deal with siege
Pepsi Palestine, based in the Gaza Strip, has opened a new branch in the West Bank in light of the Gaza siege and Israeli restrictions, and some analysts fear such action could contribute to the collapse of the already-fragile economy in Gaza.
As many Gaza Strip-based businesses have struggled under the 12-year-long Israeli blockade, unable to make a sustainable profit, some are driven to search for new and alternative markets despite warnings of potential harm to the local economy.
One of those companies, Pepsi Palestine, has spent four years establishing a soda bottling factory in the West Bank and is now able to serve that market directly. The company, affiliated with bottler Yazji Group, had shipped its products to the West Bank from its facilities in Greece and Jordan, paying steep transportation costs and tariffs.
Pepsi Palestine media director Hammam Yazji told Al-Monitor, “Israel bans the exportation of our products from Gaza to the West Bank, but it allows products to move in the opposite direction. We had to establish a factory in the West Bank, where production costs less. We also employed people, and the Palestinian Authority [PA] offered us incentives such as expediting the issuance of needed permits and governmental procedures.”
The company, however, is maintaining its Gaza Strip factory despite dropping sales due to the economic situation there.
