Jordan has recorded a seventeen percent increase in the export of agricultural products to JD734 million in 2021, compared with JD639 million in the same period in 2020.
Khaled Hneifat, Minister of Agriculture, said that agricultural exports comprised 17.1 percent of the Kingdom’s total exports in third quarter of 2021, compared to 15.1 in the same period of 2020.
Moreover, the quantity of agricultural exports also increased, amounting to 475,000 tons, of which 161,000 tons were exported to Saudi Arabia, he added, noting that exports to other markets, including Bahrain and Oman, have recovered. The minister said agricultural shipments to Egypt had surged to their highest levels since 2010.
The measures taken by the ministry in 2021, he indicated, focused on enforcing quality and food safety standards, pointing out that 27,750 samples were collected from imported agricultural shipments in the third quarter of last year, while 36,250 samples were collected from outbound shipments.
Hneifat noted about 61,000 tons of imported agricultural produce were either resent to origin or destroyed after failing to meet Jordanian standards.
The ministry is working closely with all stakeholders to remove obstacles hindering the flow of Jordanian agricultural products to foreign markets, and all relevant export issues are discussed with international partners and Arab ministers of agriculture in various international meetings and events, he added.