Import & wholesale
Middle Eastern Products Importer — Licensed, Direct from Origin
Levant Direct is a licensed Canadian importer of Middle Eastern products, working directly with ten named producer houses in Jordan, Syria, Türkiye and Egypt rather than buying through a chain of other distributors. Buying from a licensed importer means a restaurant, grocer or retailer doesn't need its own Safe Food for Canadians licence, preventive control plan or traceability system for that purchase — the importer already carries all three.
This page sets out what 'licensed, direct from origin' actually means in practice: the routes goods travel from Amman, Gaziantep and Cairo, what the licence covers, and how an inquiry becomes a case on your shelf.
من الرفوف From the shelves
سوريا · Syria · Latakia — Lio Food
Tomato Pasteمعجون الطماطم
360 g glass (x12) · 635 g glass (x12) · 1375 g glass (x6) · 3070 g glass (x4)
سوريا · Syria · Latakia — Lio Food
Crushed Red Hot Pepperفليفلة حارة مطحونة
360 g glass (x12) · 635 g glass (x12)
حلب · Türkiye · Aleppo tradition — Nader Barakat & Sons
Nader Barakat B5 A106نادر بركات ب 5 A106
220 g bar · 48 pieces per carton, net 10.560 kg, gross 11.500 kg
حلب · Türkiye · Aleppo tradition — Nader Barakat & Sons
janat alghar A107جنة الغار A107
net 9.600 kg, gross 11.000 kg
حلب · Türkiye · Aleppo tradition — Nader Barakat & Sons
Rachid Qalaia A110رشيد قلعية A110
net 7.200 kg, gross 9.000 kg
حلب · Türkiye · Aleppo tradition — Nader Barakat & Sons
bahur marayam A114بخور مريم A114
net 9.600 kg, gross 10.600 kg
What 'licensed importer' means for your paperwork
Under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, whoever brings food across the border needs the SFC licence, a written preventive control plan and traceability records — a business that buys cases from an already-licensed importer does not (CFIA — importing food). That's the practical reassurance behind 'licensed importer': you're adding a supplier to your existing operations, not standing up a regulated import business of your own. Buy from a licensed importer, or import yourself lays the two paths side by side for anyone weighing the difference.
Direct from origin: the routes behind the catalogue
Four cities anchor the sourcing: Amman, Jordan (AbdulRahim Mills, Ibrahim Srour Est., Hamdan for Foods, Noon Foods), Gaziantep, Türkiye (Zer Group, Nader Barakat & Sons), Cairo, Egypt (El Captain) and Latakia, Syria (Lio Food). From Amman, Gaziantep and Cairo: how goods reach the GTA covers the general shape of that route honestly, without inventing transit times we can't stand behind. Sourcing specifically from Türkiye carries the same licensing framework as any other origin country — see importing food from Turkey to Canada for what's actually specific to that origin versus what applies universally.
The Toronto CMA reflects that same geography on the demand side: the 2021 Census counted 35,265 people reporting Egyptian origin and 28,490 reporting Turkish origin, response counts that speak to why Cairo- and Gaziantep-rooted lines move as steadily here as anywhere in the catalogue.
What ships under this catalogue
Direct-from-origin sourcing spans spices from Amman, natural oils from Cairo, Aleppo soap from Gaziantep, and canned & preserves from Latakia — four categories, four cities, one written quotation covering all of them together.
Choosing an importer vs. importing yourself
A handful of businesses genuinely benefit from holding their own SFC licence — a private-label brand building direct producer relationships at real volume, or a retailer standing up a permanent import operation. For nearly everyone else, buying from an already-licensed importer is faster to start and carries none of the compliance overhead; what a food importer in Toronto actually does walks through when that calculation might shift.
Buying questions, answered
Do I need my own import licence to buy from you?
No. Buying from a licensed Canadian importer means you are not importing yourself, so an SFC licence, preventive control plan and traceability system aren't required on your side for that purchase.
Where are your products actually made?
Jordan (Amman), Syria (Latakia), Türkiye (Gaziantep) and Egypt (Cairo), across ten named supplier houses — every listing names the producer and country.
Can you source products not currently in the catalogue?
Often, yes — our supplier houses can source variations and sister products on request. Note it in your inquiry and we'll confirm feasibility rather than substitute something else quietly.
Do you import directly, or buy through other Canadian distributors?
We work directly with the ten named producer houses in Jordan, Syria, Türkiye and Egypt under our own import licence, rather than buying already-imported stock from another Canadian distributor.