Tomato farmers in Jordan are losing tens of thousands of dinars annually. They claim they are suffering from low prices in the local market and difficulty exporting to neighboring countries.
A tomato farmer in the Tafileh Governorate, almost 180 kilometers south of Amman, said that farmers are “frustrated and angry” because locally produced tomatoes are abundant and of very high quality. Yet, since the supply exceeds the demand, the product is priced lower than the input costs.
“We used to export all of our produce to Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC),” he added. “The GCC are currently importing tomatoes from Iran.”
Sa’di Abu Hammad, president of the Jordanian Farmers Association, stated that there are challenges in exporting tomatoes to the GCC markets due to the long wait time for produce approvals, in addition to inspection costs, which are paid by farmers. A high export tax compounds this issue, he said.
Source: jordantimes.com