The Jordanian Agricultural Ministry banned the import of some goods from Syria, which were said to be available in the Jordanian markets, after protests from Jordanian farmers who said that the entry of Syrian goods in large amounts had affected their sales.
On Monday, the Jordanian Ro’ya site said that the Ministry had banned the import of “protected goods in the local market,” from Syria, adding that they had “opened space to import grapes, apples, and carrots from Syria.”
The site quoted the Agriculture Ministry spokesman, Lawrence Majali, as saying, “The decision to ban locally protected products has been communicated to all the kingdom’s border centers, especially the Jaber border with Syria.”
He added that the Ministry was “currently permitting the import of grapes, apples and carrots in small amounts in the local market, but that it was rejecting the import of other goods which were available in large amounts domestically.”
The Ministry banned the import of citrus fruits, olive oil, as well as tomatoes and cucumbers, and said that they were available in large amounts at appropriate prices.
Last week, Jordanian farmers threw citrus fruits in the main street of Aghwar Shamaliyah, and later set up a tent, to protest the influx of Syrian citrus to local markets in amounts they said were “enormous” despite the local production surplus.
The protesting farmers said that allowing in foreign products had flooded the market and had led to a decline of local products, and that it had inflicted harm and losses on the farmers. This pushed them to stop harvesting their fruits after the price of labor exceeded the returns.
The newspaper quoted a farmer as saying that a box of oranges had been sold at the beginning of the season for about three dinars, but now it was sold for about one dinar. He said that the price of the agricultural process on the farmers was high.
Since the reopening of the Nasib Border Crossing, the volume of Syrian agricultural imports has exceeded 17,000 tons of fruits and vegetables, and has recently increased, with about 500 tons crossing daily, according to Mohamed al-Sawah, head of the Exporters Federation in Syria.
It is worth noting that the prices in the Syrian market have seen rises as a result of the opening of the Nasib Border Crossing in mid-October, especially with vegetables and fruits, while there has been a breakthrough of Syrian products in the Jordanian markets.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
