Farmers union encourages public to report price gouging by merchants

Merchants say farmers raised prices first before selling

By Maram Kayed - Apr 01,2020 - Last updated at Apr 01,2020

The Jordanian Farmers Union has said that it has received complaints from citizens who were told by some merchants that farmers had raised the prices first in the supply chain (Photo by Amjad Ghsoun)

AMMAN — The Jordanian Farmers Union has called on citizens to report any merchant who charges exorbitant prices on fruits and vegetables, denying claims that farmers are the cause of the hike.

In a statement, the union said that it has received complaints from citizens who have been told by some merchants that farmers had raised the prices first in the supply chain.

“Crises merchants, those who take advantage of a crisis to exploit citizens, should be harshly punished. We assure you that farmers have not raised the prices of produce and are, in fact, selling it at a lower price,” the union said in the statement.

Citizen Tarek Sawaeed said on Facebook that one merchant attempted to sell him one kilogramme of tomatoes for JD1.40, when its selling price is 40 piasters. “This is unacceptable. I do not care if the farmers or the merchants are the ones taking advantage of citizens' needs but it needs to stop,” he added.

Two weeks ago, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Tareq Hammouri set price ceilings for the vegetables most in-demand after the ministry received hundreds of complaints regarding unjustified price increases.

A week later, the minister again set price ceilings for the same vegetables, but for bulk purchases, so that there would be no “loopholes for exploitation at any stage in the supply chain”.

The union stressed that Jordanian farmers are “working day and night to supply the Kingdom with sufficient produce in this crisis” and that “if some farmers or merchants do not have a sense of social responsibility or love for their country, they should be punished accordingly”.

Hasan Smadi, a farmer, said that when the lockdown was first implemented, he lost hundreds of dinars worth of produce because no merchant would buy it. “Despite that, after the Ministry of Agriculture allowed us to continue work and continue supplying the market with its needs, I did not raise prices. What is a few hundred dinars to pay for this country?” he said in a Facebook post.

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