Jordan willing to regulate potato prices

The Secretary General of the Jordanian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, Yousef Shammali, stressed the importance of a commitment from all relevant authorities to enforce proper rules governing the functioning of the potato market in order to prevent price distortions and practices contrary to competition law.

He made this statement after meeting with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Radi Tarawneh, to discuss the reasons for the high prices of potatoes material in the local; a meeting that was also attended by representatives of the agricultural sector and the Association for Consumer Protection. The Ministry started a study of the reality of the potato market to make sure of the lack of any breaches of market regulations.

He stressed that the Ministry will take legal action to ensure market stability and bring potato prices down, and if prices remain high, not only will they study the possibility of setting price ceilings, but they will also consider opening the door to imports in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture.

Mr Shammali asked potato traders to work on increasing the supply of materials to the market and reduce prices, especially with the start of production processes in some eastern areas. The ultimate goal is to protect consumers.