AMMAN — Because of
Russia’s war
on Ukraine, grain prices reached new highs in European trading sessions on
Thursday, bringing the price of wheat to $384 dollars per ton at the “Euronext”
group, which manages a number of European stock exchanges.
اضافة اعلان
Secretary-General of the
Jordanian Farmers Union Mahmoud Al-Oran told
Jordan News that any political and economic
crisis in the world has a direct impact on all countries. He went on to say
that the wheat crisis that the world is now facing is directly related to
shipping costs, insurance for transport ships, distribution difficulties, and
other factors; “all of this adds up to a significant additional cost”.
Oran said that even if Jordan does not import
wheat from
Russia and Ukraine, wheat prices will remain high due to the impact
on the demand curve.
According to Oran, Jordan needs to try to
produce wheat locally and achieve self-sufficiency at a rate of 50 percent;
currently its self-sufficiency does not exceed 3 percent to 5 percent.
“Even if achieving sufficiency is extremely
difficult, achieving at least a percentage of it is sufficient to reduce the
burden,” he said.
He also suggested that the government
designate specific areas of land of some irrigated vegetable farms in the
eastern and southern regions to produce wheat and barley exclusively.
Oran emphasized that this option is feasible
because some vegetables, such as tomatoes, are produced in large quantities and
part of it could be dispensed with.
Concerning the water that farming grain will need, Oran suggested
that unlicensed artesian wells be licensed, rather than done away with, on the
condition that they are used to irrigate wheat crops.
Ibrahim Al-Sharif, the head of the
Jordan Farmers’ Association, told
Jordan News that there are renewable
groundwater basins in the southeast that neighboring countries are exploiting,
adding that the government should use these basins and the large areas adjacent
to them to grow wheat and barley, in particular, as this would allow Jordan to
meet a large portion of its grain needs.
Sharif believes that, in light of the major political events
occurring around the world, Jordan should begin providing for its own needs, as
looking for other sources of import is not the best solution.
He added that Russia and Ukraine are among the
biggest suppliers of wheat, so the conflict between them now may result in
wheat being cut off from the market for an extended period of time, or becoming
difficult to get.
According to Mohammad
Loay Baybars, the head
of the Agriculture Materials Traders and Producers Association, Jordan relies
heavily on import for its wheat and barley needs, and because the global market
has been affected by the events in Ukraine, “Jordan will be greatly and
directly affected”.
According to Baybars, the
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply assured citizens that the strategic stock of wheat
and barley would last for more than a year.
“I believe this strategic stockpile will
protect Jordan from the impending crisis,” he said.
Other solutions, according to Baybars, come
from the global market rather than from local production. He believes that no
matter how hard Jordan tries, the process of producing wheat locally will be
difficult, that achieving self-sufficiency is impossible, and that at best,
Jordan might achieve only 20 percent of its needs.
Yanal Barmawi, media spokesman for the
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, stated on the ministry’s official
website that the strategic stock of wheat is sufficient for 15 months and that
Jordan relies on Romania for 90 percent of its wheat imports.
He also stated that the contracts concluded
with the companies supplying wheat and barley are open, and of multiple
origins, and that the companies are obliged to supply under the guarantees
stipulated in the contracts.
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