AMMAN — A hike in prices of vegetables and fruits is not
caused by exports but due to other contributing factors, like frost, planting cycles,
and the decline in agricultural areas as more farmers abandon their farmlands
because of losses, according to stakeholders.
اضافة اعلان
Audeh Rawashdeh, president of the
Jordan Farmers Union, told Jordan News that almost all Jordan’s traditional export markets for vegetables
and fruit are closed because of the closure of the Syrian borders.
Even when Syria is open to Jordan, its borders with other
countries are closed such as its northern border with Turkey, which means that
the Jordanian exports to East Europe cannot pass, according to Rawashdeh.
Exports to other neighboring countries such as Iraq and the
Gulf countries are humble as they are part of multi-party free trade agreements,
Rawashdeh said, asserting that exporting is not the reason for any hike in
prices of vegetables and fruit in Jordan.
Some farmers have reduced the size of the area they used to
cultivate and others have even quit the whole business due to their inability to
cover the cost of the produce. “Sale prices of the produce are generally below
the production cost, and only during the shifts from a planting cycle to
another or during severe weather conditions prices go up, and temporarily,”
said Rawashdeh.
He criticized individuals who show up and become vocal only
when produce prices go up, and do not show any compassion towards farmers’
challenges throughout the year. “Why don’t they say something when the price of
1kg of tomatoes plummets down to 30 piasters,” Rawashdeh enquired.
Mohammad Sharif, a farmer, said that conventional land exploitation
has almost disappeared due to closure of borders with
Syria and COVID-19,
adding that some frost waves would destroy 100 percent of the zucchini, tomato
or potato produce, and reduce the production of other crops.
Other factors that affect produce prices are production
input costs and labor wages, according to Sharif, who said that input costs
have increased by 100 percent and labor by 50 percent.
Sharif was among farmers who were recently hosted at the
Royal Court for a meeting with
King Abdullah to present the concerns of the
sector. He voiced appreciation of the
King’s attention to farmers and the challenges they have come to face.
During a visit to a farm project in December, King Abdullah
underscored the need for quantitative and qualitative leaps in agricultural
production to benefit Jordanians and enhance food security in the country,
noting the importance of diversifying crops in the Jordan Valley to bolster the
agricultural sector and the national economy.
Sharif also commended the efforts of
Agriculture Minister
Khaled Hneifat in developing the sector and dealing with the farmers’
challenges, noting that the minster has been following up in person on farmers
who were hit by the latest frost wave.
According to a statement obtained by Jordan News from
the Jordan Farmers Union,
Jordanian farmers produce 6,000 tons of fruits and
vegetables daily, which is sufficient to meet the needs of the local market.
The statement noted that the agricultural sector proved
resilient and “the strongest” during the COVID-19 lockdowns and closure of
borders, maintaining steady production to fulfill the needs of the Jordanian
local markets.
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