Vegetable prices expected to drop in August — ministry

AMMAN — The Agriculture Ministry expects vegetable prices to drop in mid-August as the new planting season has begun, a government official said on Thursday. 

“High temperatures in the summer affect vegetable production, especially tomatoes, usually considered a fragile crop, which results in higher prices,” Agriculture Ministry Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

Price hikes are also caused by shortages during seasonal transitions from summer and winter crops, Haddadin said. 

Farmers in the Jordan Valley plant winter crops between September and the end of the year, he explained.  

The gap between the harvests in the Jordan Valley and the desert causes the price of certain vegetables to go up, particularly tomatoes, he added. 

The price of tomatoes has dropped since the beginning of July, when 1kg was selling for JD1.25. 

High temperatures also affect the blossoms of vegetables like aubergines and zucchini, leading to shortages and price hikes, according to the ministry official. 

Some retailers and consumers have blamed exports for the rising prices in previous interviews with The Jordan Times.

But the ministry spokesperson said that high domestic prices meant that farmers did not need to export their produce.

“As long as production is low, prices will remain high, and producers or traders will have no need to export since they get good prices on the local market,” he said.

The president of the Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruit and Vegetables, Saadi Abu Hammad, told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, earlier this month that the daily demand for fruit and vegetables in Jordan is 350 tonnes while the available supply is 271 tonnes.

Haddadin said that prices in Jordan are not high compared to neighbouring countries. 

“Jordan is the only country in the region where people buy fruit and vegetables in bulk, while in other countries they buy it by kilogramme or by piece”.