AMMAN — A measure of optimism could be felt in some commercial sectors after
Qatar announced its intention to increase imports of Jordanian food products during
the 2022 World Cup, but many remain skeptical about the possible windfall.
اضافة اعلان
Several traders and food sector workers
Jordan
News spoke to mentioned challenges they face, most prominent of which is
high production costs, which, they say, weaken the competitiveness of Jordanian
products in foreign markets.
Member of the Board of Directors of the
Jordanian Poultry Producers Association Hassan Bu Diqer told
Jordan News that the
sector is one “that incurs the highest costs of production, resulting in a
higher selling price”.
“If traders want to sell poultry to Qatar, they must
offer a preferential price, especially since Qatar imports poultry from Brazil
and Ukraine at lower prices,” he stressed.
In order to be competitive in the export market,
“the government needs to reduce production costs in diverse food sectors, and
enable traders to sell at preferential prices, without losing”, he said.
Head of the
Cooperative Society for Cattle Owners and Milk Producers, Laith Al-Hajj, told
Jordan
News that Jordan does not raise enough cattle, therefore “dealers have to
import some, which makes exporting cattle or meat unfeasible for them”.
He added that cattle and beef will not be among the
items Qatar will import from Jordan, “given that there are meat-producing
countries, and competition with them is difficult, especially since they sell
meat at the lowest cost to the buyer”.
According to economist
Salameh Al-Darawi, the
agricultural sector will stand to benefit most “if Qatar imports food from
Jordan”.
He said that markets in Qatar “received Jordan’s
agricultural exports in abundance previously, and the Jordanian producer had a
prominent presence there”.
A Jordan Chamber of Commerce source who spoke on
condition of anonymity told
Jordan News that “a Qatari delegation
visited Jordan at the beginning of October, and showed interest in importing
certain food items, according to certain specifications, during the World Cup”.
The volume of trade between Jordan and Qatar over
the past 10 years had reached more than $3.17 billion. Qatar imports Jordanian
food products due to the quality and efficiency of the local product, which
satisfies the Qatari consumer.
The most prominent products and foodstuffs Jordan
exports to Qatar are vegetables and fruits, including zucchini, cucumbers,
tomatoes, cauliflower, eggplant, all kinds of peppers, carrots, green beans,
cabbage, watermelons, cherries, peaches, and apricots, in addition to leafy
greens that include parsley, spinach, mint, coriander, lettuce, grape leaves,
mallow, and watercress.
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