Potato News from Jordan

The Jordan Ministry of Agriculture on Sunday said that a shipment at the Aqaba Port, Jordan, carrying 10,000 tonnes of potatoes allegedly infested with potato cyst nematodes, will not be allowed into the country.

The price of potatoes in Jordan is expected to increase as a significant acreage of the field crop was damaged when temperatures dipped below zero last week.

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.

Farmers and wholesalers in Jordan have demanded that the government stops the import of potatoes originating in Israel.