'Silos company to buy 25,000 tonnes of wheat for first time'

AMMAN — State-owned Jordan Silos and Supply General Company is planning to float several tenders to buy wheat from international markets as of 2016, Hassoun Mheilan, its director general, said Sunday.

The company, which last week floated a tender to buy 25,000 tonnes of wheat for the first time since its establishment in 2000, plans to import wheat for its flour mill that has a total production capacity of 400 tonnes per day, Mheilan told The Jordan Times.

“Wheat prices are low at present and this is encouraging for us to buy directly from international markets as we usually buy from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This way it will be cheaper for us,” he said.

The official added that the company has plans to increase the capacity of its silos.

“Demand on wheat rose sharply with the population growth and particularly due to the influx of large numbers of Syrians refugees into the Kingdom,” Mheilan noted.

A tender will be soon awarded to a company to expand the capacity of silos at the Juweideh Complex by an additional 100,000 tonnes. The current capacity stands at 135,000 tonnes.

Another tender is being prepared to expand the capacity of the Aqaba complex silos by an additional 100,000 tonnes.

“Wheat reserves in Jordan are usually sufficient for six months but the plan is to increase capacity due to the rise in demand,” Mheilan said.

Jordan consumes more than 1 million tonnes of wheat annually, according to company figures.