Khaberni - Mahmoud Al-Amri, the media spokesperson for the General Syndicate of Mill Owners and Olive Producers, denied accusations by the General Manager of the Farmers Union of a monopoly by some in the olive oil market.
Al-Amri stated on "Al-Mamlaka" TV that prices in the market are governed by the supply and demand equation, indicating a decrease in this season's olive oil production by two-thirds to date.
Al-Amri emphasized that the evaluation of the olive harvest should be made at the end of the season with the completion of the olive harvest from all geographical environments.
Al-Amri warned against flooding the market with imported oil, stressing the need to evaluate market needs on a monthly basis.
For his part, Mahmoud Al-Aouran, the General Manager of the Farmers Union, said that the olive oil market is "monopolized by some."
Al-Aouran welcomed the decision to import olive oil for its impact on balancing the market.
Mohammed Al-Hayari, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, said on Sunday that permission has been granted to import an estimated 4,000 tons of olive oil to cover the needs of the local market in the first phase.
He added that one of the conditions is that the weight of the imported olive oil package should not exceed 8 kg.
The Ministry of Agriculture previously stated that Jordan's need for olive oil reaches 25,000 tons.
Al-Hayari emphasized that there will be no monopoly on the olive oil import file.
He noted that starting next week, the ministry will begin issuing olive oil import approvals.
He mentioned that after opening the import door and meeting the needs of the local market, there might be an opportunity to open the door for exporting Jordanian olive oil if suitable quantities of oil are introduced into Jordan.
