Gov’t procures 16,468 tonnes of wheat from farmers

AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture on Sunday announced that it had purchased and received 16,468 tonnes of locally produced wheat and 34,812 tonnes of barley fodder until the beginning of August.

The ministry said it had begun receiving wheat and barley for the 2018/2019 season on May 15 over a three-month period, noting that the delivery deadline was extended to allow farmers to complete their harvest, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The northern region had been allocated 14,189 tonnes and 24,919 tonnes of consumable wheat and barley fodder respectively, the central region received 1,535 tonnes and 8,123 tonnes of consumable wheat and barley fodder respectively, while the southern region received 742 tonnes and 1,769 tonnes of consumable wheat and barley fodder respectively. 

In a previous statement, the Agriculture Ministry had explained that the Cabinet had adopted prices of JD500 per tonne of wheat used for seed production and JD420 for consumable wheat, compared with JD420 per tonne of barley fodder and JD370 per tonne of consumable barley. 

The government had requested farmers from around the Kingdom to attain grain-production certificates. 

According to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, the Kingdom consumes 80,000 tonnes of wheat and 60,000 tonnes of barley every month.