Agricultural representatives on Wednesday commended the reopening of the Karameh-Turaibil border crossing between Jordan and Iraq, saying it will boost the ailing sector.
The reopening of Jordan’s only border crossing with Iraq comes at the “right time” as farmers prepare their lands for winter crops, which are Iraq’s main agricultural imports from the Kingdom, sector representatives underlined.
Jordan’s exports of fruits and vegetables to Iraq did not fully stop when the border was closed, but they largely dropped, which caused losses for farmers, producers and exporters of fruits and vegetables, according to sector insiders.
“Exporters and producers resorted to much longer and costlier routes through Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to reach the Iraqi market. This increased the transportation fees and much of the exported produce used to get spoiled, thus making exports to Iraq almost unfeasible,” President of the Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruit and Vegetables Saadi Abu Hammad said.
Exports of fruits and vegetables to Iraq have dropped by 70 per cent since the border closing, Abu Hammad said, noting that Jordanian produce has lost its competitiveness in the Iraqi market since then.
