Khaberni - Khalil Amro, Assistant Secretary-General for Marketing in the Ministry of Agriculture, said on Sunday that opening the import of bananas comes within the framework of addressing the shortage gap in the local market, especially since the current period is away from the peak of local production, stressing that imports are done according to precise determinants that take into account the protection of the national product and the balance of the market.
Amro clarified during statements to Al Mamlaka that the banana crop experiences two production peaks; the first extends from April to June, and the second from mid-September to mid-December, while we are currently in February, which is far from the production peak.
Amro pointed out that the quantities of local bananas received by the markets range between 80 to 100 tons daily, while the local needs range between 250 to 350 tons per day, and these quantities vary according to the months and the level of demand.
He indicated that the local market needs imported bananas as supplementary quotas throughout the year, noting that the door to import is open for bananas from Ecuador and Somalia, although the import process is controlled through specific outputs and quantities granted based on market needs, and after accounting for the quantities of local bananas received in the markets.
In relation to Arab bananas, Amro explained as being of Arab origin, they are subject to low customs duties of about 5% under the Arab Free Trade Agreement, which could pose a risk to the local product and put it in unfair competition.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture, in order to protect the farmers, resorted to contracting agreements and understandings with the Banana Guild, as it is the primary sector for the marketing of local bananas, where an agreement was reached on determining a base price for farmers at 60 piasters per kilogram, emphasizing that this experiment was successful during the last year and before.
Amro explained that the quantities of imported bananas do not exceed 80 tons daily, and that the import will be from the current month until the middle of next month only, as it coincides with the approaching peak of local banana production, which extends from April to June.
The Ministry of Agriculture's clarification comes at a time when farmers expressed their concerns about the announcement of opening the door for banana imports from abroad, coinciding with the near local production season in the Jordan Valley regions, where the ministry had announced the opening of the door for the import of Arab bananas, inviting concerned parties to apply as of Sunday according to the approved determinants.
Demand to regulate imports
Meanwhile, Suleiman Al-Adwan, a member of the Jordan Valley Farmers Union, warned of the impact of foreign banana quantities, especially from Ecuador, on the local market and the national product, pointing out that their import is done in quantities exceeding the market's need and is stored in “bonded” before being requested to be brought in later despite the decline in quality, negatively affecting the local bananas.
Al-Adwan affirmed that local bananas have two production peaks, the first from October to the end of December, which is an important period for farmers, demanding to prohibit the import of any type of bananas between September 15 and December 15 to protect the national production that covers the market's needs, in addition to regulating imports and restricting it to banana guild owners, as was done previously and was a successful experience.
In terms of prices, Al-Adwan explained that they sometimes decrease during the peak but are currently good with the decrease in production, demanding the re-imposition of the specific tariff on foreign bananas and restricting the granting of permits to professionals to prevent dumping, noting the existence of a daily price in coordination between the farmers, taking into account market conditions and the citizen, at reasonable prices.
