High temperatures lead to rise in fruit, vegetable prices

AMMAN — The multiple hot air masses, which affected the country in July, caused the prices of fruit and vegetables to surge and exports to drop, officials said on Wednesday.

The country exported 72,800 tonnes of fruit and vegetables in July, while exports stood at 100,000 tonnes in July 2015.  

“Exports dropped by 27 per cent in July compared to the same period last year, and this is mainly due to the consecutive hot air masses which prevailed during the last month,” said Salah Tarawneh, the Agriculture Ministry’s assistant secretary general for marketing.

Tarawneh highlighted that the unseasonably high temperatures caused a drop in the yield of crops.

“The low production of crops in July resulted in low supply and thus prices surged on the local market. In addition, low production also resulted in lower exports,” Tarawneh added.

Ministry Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said that tomato crops across the country were most affected by the high temperatures, explaining its high price of JD0.85 per kilogramme on the local market.  

“Also, tomato exports dropped by 25 per cent compared to the same period last year,” Haddadin said.

The country was affected on Friday by a hot air mass accompanied by a thermal seasonal depression originating from the Indian subcontinent. 

The hot air mass peaked on Monday, when temperatures exceeded their annual average for this time of the year by seven degrees, reaching 39ºC in Amman.

The impact of the hot air mass was forecast to subside gradually from Wednesday, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department, which indicated that temperatures would drop back to their annual average for this time of the year by the weekend.