Uptick tomato prices in Jordan have brought a temporary export ban to boost imports and make the vegetable affordable.
On August 5, 2024, Petra news agency, courtesy of Ammon News quoted the Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat calling for a phased export restriction.
Hneifat hopes that the gradual ban on outbound shipments will encourage imports, which currently are down and undercutting domestic supplies.
According to the Minister, Jordan has witnessed a real time decrease in inbound shipments with a corresponding hike in local prices.
As of the first week of August 2024, Jordan’s market rates for the kitchen staple was at least $0.83 a kg. Whereas the country’s retail minimum is usually $0.75 a kg, the maximum rarely surpasses $2.13 a kg.
Weather Factor
The price hike also owes to production shifts and peak summer temperatures in the Middle East country.
This is in contrast with a near-similar scenario in 2022 where high temperatures actually made tomato and vegetables cheap. In April 2022, for example, tomato prices plummeted from 1 Jordanian dinar ($1.40) to 0.5 dinar ($0.70), a 50% cut. This was as a result of heat-influenced market plenty.
However, the weather in 2022 showed normal patterns unlike 2024’s shifts fanned by low pressure systems from the Mediterranean.
Interestingly, World Bank report predicted in 2022 that Jordan’s tomato production would improve from weather changes while wheat would decline.
All in all, by instituting the temporary ban, the government projects that by August 15, tomato prices will be under control. And as statistics below show, it is not just exports but other factors such as consumption trends that need monitoring.
Jordan Tomato Statistics
Jordan is a desert nation in the Middle East that relies mostly on irrigation for its vegetable such as tomatoes. In 2020, 43% of the total crops in the country spanning 196,000 hectares were under irrigation, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The tomato is a key culinary staple and a part of almost every Jordanian meal from salad to paste and ketchup. Its major cultivation areas include the Jordan valley, the fields of Mafraq, and Irbid to the north. In regional terms, Mafraq led national production in 2022, at 67,267.4 tonnes.
Does Jordan export fresh tomatoes?
Because tomatoes account for 43.4% of Jordan’s tomato production, it is also a lucrative export. For instance in 2013, Jordan ranked 4th worldwide for fresh tomato export volumes, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
How high is tomato production?
Data by Helgi Library shows that Jordan produced 716,000 tonnes in 2022, the 31st highest among 153 nations. The highest production year was 2015 at 870,000 tonnes, whereas the lowest was in 1973 at 83,100 tonnes.
How do tomato prices in Jordan compare globally?
According to Numbeo data, Jordan has some of the lowest tomato prices globally at $0.75 per kg, the 85th among 95 nations. As such, Jordan is among the only 13 nations in the 95 with prices below $1.00 a kg. In comparison, the most expensive tomato market is Switzerland at $6.10 a kg.
How high is Jordan’s tomato consumption per capita?
In 2011, Jordanians consumed 257,685 kg of tomatoes per year or a third of their country’s annual production. This was however lower than the 2010 per capita at 277,050 kg per year. In comparison, the highest country by consumption, China, consumed 41,298,990 kg per year in 2011.