Agriculture Ministry warns farmers against early picking of citrus fruit

AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday warned farmers of citrus fruits against picking fruits too early, noting that its inspection teams will destroy any unripe produce.

As citrus trees start yielding in September, the ministry instructed farmers to avoid picking citrus fruits before they ripen, indicating that it will take measures against those who fail to adhere to the instructions.

Four tonnes of citrus fruits entered the central market on Friday, ministry’s spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said, indicating that workers at the market rejected the entry of scores of kilogrammes of oranges.

“Forty boxes of oranges were removed from the central market on Friday because they were not ripe. The juice content in the removed produce was only 10 per cent, which indicates that they are not ripe,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

He indicated that the ministry issued instructions to farmers earlier this month, requesting them to wait for the citrus fruits to ripen before harvesting them.

“The ministry will not allow the entry of fruits and vegetables into the local market if they don’t adhere to standards. The measure seeks to safeguard the rights of consumers and provide them with the highest quality produce at fair prices,” Haddadin noted.

He underlined that most of the country’s citrus trees are grown the northern part of the Jordan Valley.

“Citrus trees are grown on 60,000 dunums of lands, the majority of which are in the northern Ghor,” Haddadin said.