Agricultural sector representatives still meeting with authorities over demands

AMMAN — Representatives of the agricultural sector on Tuesday demanded that the government suspend its ban on exporting produce via foreign refrigerated trucks and to allow the employment of 20,000 guest workers.

The ban on the employment of new guest workers left 35 per cent of agricultural land in the Jordan Valley uncultivated this season due to the lack of agricultural workers, according to the representatives of nine farmer, producer and exporter unions, societies and agricultural associations.

In a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, the representatives said the government, with its ban on the export of produce via foreign refrigerated trucks and the employment of new guest workers, is forcing workers in agriculture to abandon the sector.

They also called on the government to open Al Suweida border crossing with Syria, and also demanded that the Ministry of Transport allow them to use empty foreign refrigerated trucks as they return to their countries of origin for the export of fruit and vegetables.

President of the Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruits and Vegetables Zuhair Jweihan, said on Tuesday that the agriculture sector will not “yet” take any escalatory measures, such as shutting down agricultural operations as threatened recently, until scheduled meetings with the government to settle the two issues end.

“Our goal is to solve the problems of the sector rather than take escalatory measures. However, we can decide on our future steps when we end our meetings with the ministries of labour, agriculture and transport…” Jweihan told The Jordan Times.

The government banned the employment of new guest workers in June with the aim of regulating the labour market and pinpointing their exact number in Jordan. 

The authorities have also banned foreign refrigerator trucks from carrying the country’s produce abroad due to a sufficient fleet of Jordanian refrigerator trucks, according to officials.