Khaberni - Assistant Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture for marketing, engineer Khalil Amro, said that the Cabinet's decision to approve the compelling reasons for a project to amend the system of wholesale markets for vegetables and fruits for the year 2026 aims to enhance the regulatory role of the Ministries of Local Administration and Agriculture and the Greater Amman Municipality in wholesale markets, and to control random selling outside the central markets.
Amro pointed out that there are only 3 central markets in Jordan: Central Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa, in addition to a temporary transitional market in the Deir Alla area (Al-Aradah Market), noting that work was done with the Amman Municipality to amend the system issued in 2016 concerning the regulatory part on the quality of agricultural products, vegetables, and fruits entering these markets, with positive additions included in the decision to keep pace with changes in marketing methods and allowing selling outside market walls through the establishment of electronic platforms to market these products in line with modern times and eliminating some distortions that occur within these markets.
Regarding the compelling reasons for amending the central markets system in municipalities, Amro explained that a basic part of them is related to the quantities that reach the markets, which represent only 50-70 percent of the total production, indicating that large amounts are sold in a random and illegal manner outside the central markets, not subject to the equations of supply, demand, and real pricing as those sold on roadsides or in malls, except for exports, and here it was necessary to address these details.
He also pointed to solving the issues related to establishing central markets through collaboration between municipalities, given the high cost of their infrastructure, with a legal mechanism provided for distributing the revenues among the municipalities.
He said that the role of the Ministry of Agriculture lies through activating agricultural offices affiliated with the ministry within the central markets, whose mission is to monitor agricultural products and their quality and to apply the standards and specifications associated with these products.
Regarding the compelling reasons for residing outside the boundaries of municipalities, Amro pointed out that the infrastructure of these markets includes support services for these markets such as cooling, storage, and grading and packing centers, where the existence of restrictions on residing within municipal boundaries at its high cost and the rise in land prices, which limit the establishment of central markets, and the establishment of supporting projects to improve the Jordanian product so that it reaches the Jordanian citizen at matching and appropriate prices, and in accordance with the specifications of importing countries.
He clarified that most production areas such as the southern and eastern regions like Mafraq, which are major production areas, do not have central markets, as establishing markets in the governorates, which are production areas, helps reduce transportation costs and develop the system of storage, cooling, and sorting of these products and their re-transportation to the local and foreign markets.
It is noteworthy that the Cabinet decided in its session held yesterday, Sunday, chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, to approve the compelling reasons for a project to amend the system of wholesale markets for vegetables and fruits for the year 2026.
