Jordan seeks preferential treatment from Russia to export fruit, vegetables

AMMAN — Gaining favourable treatment in terms of customs duties and other fees is a key to increasing Jordan's agricultural exports to the Russian market, a government official said on Monday.

"Efforts are still under way to secure preferential treatment from Russia in terms of custom duties and taxes when exporting fruit and vegetables," Ministry of Agriculture Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

Haddadin underscored that limited amounts of fruit and vegetables are being imported to the Russia, highlighting that negotiations are still ongoing to open the market to local produce.

The government has been negotiating to open the Russian market to agricultural produce for two years now. Several official visits have taken place to address challenges, mainly the transport of the goods and the customs duties imposed by Russia.

Ministry figures indicate that over the past three days, exports of fruit and vegetables witnessed an increase, with more than 10,000 tonnes of produce exported.

Tomatoes constituted 50 per cent of the exports, according to Haddadin, who noted that fruits represented 30 per cent.

Jordan exported 162,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables during the first four months of this year, while the figure stood at 214,000 tonnes in the same period of last year, according to the ministry's figures, which indicated a 24 per cent drop during the first third of this year compared to the same period of the last year.

Despite the drop compared to the same period last year, the figures show that the exports are gradually recovering, as the drop in the first four months of 2015 was 27 per cent compared to the same period of 2014, officials have said.