Tomato growers in Jordan are feeling the pinch of having two of their biggest export markets, Syria and Iraq, closed to trade. Greenhouse growers, with their high production costs, are especially feeling the pain of low prices that are a result of too much product and not enough markets where they can send their tomatoes. Syria is the only land route for Jordan exports to Europe.
“Farmers and the supporting industries such as Seed companies, fertilizers suppliers & Plastic Manufacturers are suffering right now as well,” said Wael Haddadin of Haddadin Farms. Jordan's tomato exporters are focusing much of their attention on the Gulf region at the moment but facing fierce competition.
The European Union already has an abundance of supply, especially from countries like Spain and Morocco, so only premium product can find a small niche there. Syria and Iraq were two of the biggest recipients of Jordanian shipments in the past, but with conflicts disrupting daily life in those countries, the borders there have been completely shut. That's led to a glut of supply and very low prices in Jordan. Wael noted that the price for an eight-kilogram box of greenhouse tomatoes is usually about two Euro, but current prices have dropped to as low as 10 Euro cents per kilo.
“We now have to focus on finding gaps for high value produce in the European market,” said Wael. “ We should try to produce items on demand to fill those gaps by finding the suitable climatic region in Jordan where we can grow for this specific market and at this specific time.” Jordanian exporters also focused more on the Gulf countries, like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE But with competition from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, India, and Pakistan, the markets there haven't been enough to make up for absence of Iraqi and Syrian markets.
One solution would be to limit the amount of tomatoes grown in Jordan and focus on high quality high value produce. Right now, there are about 1000 hectares of tomatoes greenhouse production in the country much more open field production. But Wael is sceptical that growers will cut back acreage on their own. They're entrenched in their habits, and it will take more than just advice to change the current situation.
“One can only change things so much,” said Wael. “It's going to take a lot of help, maybe from the international community, to set up programs to upgrade the agri-sector in Jordan and maybe study the situation and resolve it. Hypermarkets are willing to pay premium prices if quality is up to standards. Jordan should implement Quality & standard rules to assure only High Quality produce is exported from Jordan. Jordan will be placed on the hypermarkets shelves and will be categorized among the high value produce coming from all around the world.
