Food supplies will not suffer in case of war between Russia and Ukraine

AMMAN –– Jordan's food supplies are at safe levels in case conflict erupts between Russia and the Ukraine, but the country will definitely be commercially affected by a conflict, stakeholders agreed Sunday.اضافة اعلان

The government has assured the public that wheat and barley reserves are enough to meet local demand for 15 months, noting that Russia and Ukraine are not among the major suppliers of these essential commodities.

President of Amman Chamber of Commerce Khalil Al-Haj Tawfiq confirmed that Jordan's food basket is safe in case of war abroad, or any other emergency situation, noting that Jordan imports from Russia and Ukraine only sunflower cooking oil. He added that Jordan imports wheat from Romania and poultry from US and Brazil, and it is not likely that maritime shipping from these countries of origin will stop.

However, Haj Tawfiq agreed that the expected hikes in the prices of oil and gas will affect the local market.

Hussam Ayesh told Jordan News that the rising political tensions between Russia and Ukraine have already pushed oil prices up to a seven-year high.

By Saturday, oil prices peaked following a five-week uptrend to see the price per barrel stand at $94, and that will reflect on Jordan's energy bill, which amounted to JD1.6 billion by the end of November 2021.

Ayesh also underlined the fact that Russia and the Ukraine are the suppliers of 30 percent of the world's cereal production, and that is also bad news for Jordan and the rest of consuming countries.

The subsequent rising inflation rate, he said, would prompt central banks to raise the interest rates on loans.

Another risk associated with the crisis are rumors, according to former minister of state for economic affairs Yusuf Mansur, who warned against making exaggerated statements about the repercussions of the conflict on Jordan's economy.

Mansur said circulating negative predictions would encourage monopoly and bad market practices, which requires interventions by the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply.

The Kingdom’s oil bill went up by 22.9 percent during the January-October period 2021, according to the Department of Statistics, while the annual food bill accounts for JD2 billion. Last year Jordan launched the strategic grain reserves at the Ghabawi horizontal bunker silos. According to the Industry Ministry, storage capacities around the Kingdom total around 1.1 million tonnes, and were expected to reach 1.45 million tonnes by the end of 2021.


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