Poultry, table egg producers threaten to ‘destroy products’ in front of agriculture, trade ministries

AMMAN — Poultry and table egg producers are planning to escalate their protest against “years of disregard for their demands”, their syndicate said Thursday.

Complaining of “redundant” taxes and measures that “harm” the sector, poultry producers, according to the syndicate, are planning to “halt their production and destroy their produce” in front of the agriculture and trade ministries if the government does not respond to their demands.

“We are responsible for producing basic goods that no Jordanian family can live without. The government has been promising us to revisit its measures for years now and nothing has actually happened,” said Abdul Shakour Jamjoum, president of the Jordanian Poultry Producers Union.

Farmers and poultry breeders say the 4 per cent tax imposed on their produce is “harming” business, especially as the Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni markets are closed.

“The sector is losing JD100,000 a day due to the high cost of production and taxes,” Jamjoum told The Jordan Times.

He noted that local production of table eggs stands at 100 million eggs a month, while domestic monthly consumption reaches 80 million.

“This means that local production covers 120 per cent of local demand, so the sector is losing, while we still pay huge taxes,” Jamjoum said.

Moreover, imports of frozen chicken are affecting local production, he added.

“We called on the government many times to at least apply the local standards on imported frozen chicken to support our products and increase their competitiveness, but even that has not been done,” he claimed.