IsDB extends Jordan $200m food security project fund

AMMAN — The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply on Thursday announced that the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is granting the ministry a $200 million fund to cover the costs of Jordan’s emergency food security project. 

“The project includes buying 420,000 tonnes of wheat and 120,000 tonnes of barely,” the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply’s spokesperson Yanal Barmawi told The Jordan Times. 

Part of the fund will be allocated to covering the costs of purchased goods and the costs of services associated with their provision, such as transport, Barmawi said.

Tenders for wheat and barley will be announced on the IsDB and the ministry’s websites, as well as in newspapers and local trade publications, according to Barmawi. 

The funding will also be used to enhance storage capacity by establishing 50 grain silos, the spokesperson said. 

According to Barmawi, Jordan’s current wheat reserves are sufficient for over 12 months, while its barley reserve covers the country’s needs for roughly 10 months. 

The Kingdom consumes 90,000 tonnes of wheat and 80,000 tonnes of barley per month, he said. 

Jordan imports roughly 95 per cent of its needs of these strategic grains, mostly from Romania, according to Barmawi.