Jordan's production of fresh vegetables and fruits in 2000 grew by 29 percent compared to 1999, the Jordan Times reported Wednesday.
An official source at ministry of agriculture was quoted by the daily as saying that “the Kingdom's agricultural production increased by 500,000 tons, as it jumped from 1.7 million tons in 1999 to 2.2 million in 2000.”
Citing the Agricultural Marketing Organization (AMO), 700,000 tons of the produce in 2000 were sent to the central wholesale markets in Amman, Irbid and Zarqa for local consumption while 396,600 tons were exported abroad, together totaling only 50 percent of the Kingdom's production.
“As for the rest of the produce, 25 percent, it was delivered to the industrial food sector and the Kingdom's small scale vegetable markets,” said the source, adding that the balance 25 percent is counted as waste.
According to the paper, the value of the Kingdom's agricultural exports in 2000 totaled around JD75.5 million, according to the AMO report.
“The rise in Jordan's agricultural exports reached 8.3 percent in volume and 3.5 percent in value compared to 1999. This is due to the drop in local agricultural prices which helped Jordanian crops to be more competitive abroad,” said Raed Hattar, head of the AMO international corporation unit told the daily – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
