‘UAE to start importing poultry from Jordan’

AMMAN — Jordan will soon start exporting live poultry and poultry products to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Sunday.

Agriculture Minister Akef Zu'bi said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times that the UAE ministry of water and environment is finalising measures that will allow the import of Jordan's poultry.

"We are seeking to open new market portals for owners of poultry farms to support a JD2 billion sector that also generates income for 15,000 families," Zu'bi said.

Meanwhile, the ministry's spokesperson, Nimer Haddadin, said some poultry farms recently started preliminary exports of live poultry and poultry products to Saudi Arabia as well.

"Saudi Arabia is interested in importing the country's agricultural produce and animal products, therefore, the ministry has notified Saudi Arabia of the names of companies that are interested in exporting to it," Haddadin told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He highlighted that a Saudi delegation will visit the Kingdom soon to facilitate the process.

There are 2,689 poultry farms in Jordan. 85.4 per cent are for the production of broiler chickens, 10.4 per cent for egg-laying hens and 4.2 per cent for breeder chickens, Haddadin said.

He added that the Kingdom has 80.5 million birds in 4,972 complexes spread over 2.7 million square metres across the country. 

In January, Poultry Breeders Union President Fares Hammoudeh told The Jordan Times that poultry breeders' losses exceeded JD10 million in the previous three months due to the "stagnant" market.

He blamed "high" breeding costs, main market closures and "weak" consumption for the losses.

The halt in exports to certain markets, particularly Iraq, hit the sector hard, Hammoudeh said at the time.