"Trade of Jordan and Amman" calls for enhancing food integration with Lebanon and Syria
Amman5 min read
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The President of the Chambers of Commerce of Jordan and Amman, Al-Ain Khalil Al-Haj Tawfiq, called for building food integration between Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, which would be the nucleus for the accession of other countries in the region, and contribute to supporting the official efforts made to achieve food security.
During his meeting on Wednesday at the Chamber's headquarters, Al-Haj Tawfiq, with the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture, Nizar Hani, stressed that this integration represents a common interest for the three countries in terms of exploiting the agricultural advantages they possess, which contributes to the development and diversification of the agricultural calendar.
He said that the three countries have agricultural potential that can be built upon to establish a more efficient integrated system, based on the integration of seasons and products and taking advantage of the comparative advantages of each country, instead of competing between similar products within the same markets.
He pointed to the existence of promising investment opportunities in the agricultural sector that must be exploited and built upon their available assets and establish complementary industries, emphasizing the need to focus on exchanging food commodities that exceed local consumption and contribute to reducing costs and ensuring their availability in the markets.
He pointed to the need to network private sector institutions in the two countries and exploit untapped economic opportunities, stressing that the Kingdom represents a gateway for Lebanese goods and products to reach new export markets by taking advantage of trade agreements that link Jordan with various economic blocs.
He pointed out that the majority of the origin certificates issued by Amman Trade since the beginning of this year for the export of goods and commodities to Lebanon were of an agricultural nature and concentrated on vegetables, fruit mixes, agricultural seeds, and dates, explaining that their number reached 510 out of 646 certificates.
Al-Haj Tawfiq stressed the need for cooperation and coordination with the Lebanese private sector and the establishment of new mechanisms that contribute to strengthening the economic relations of the two countries, especially in the agricultural field, stressing the readiness of Amman Trade to play a greater role in this regard.
For his part, Hani emphasized the importance of building on the solid political relations and the rapprochement between the Jordanian and Lebanese societies, and translating this into more integrated economic cooperation, especially in the agricultural, industrial, and commercial sectors, explaining that the coming phase will witness extensive economic cooperation between the two sister countries.
He pointed to the existence of wide opportunities to achieve more harmonization between the two countries in the agricultural field, through the organization of production and exchange in a way that serves farmers and markets in the two countries, pointing to Lebanon's experience in potato cultivation, where part of the production is directed for direct consumption and the other part for food processing, which enhances the added value of the agricultural product.
He stressed the importance of reaching understandings between neighboring countries to regulate the movement of agricultural products and avoid overlapping production seasons and harming farmers, calling for the preparation of a joint Jordanian-Lebanese agricultural calendar that determines production seasons, market needs, and opportunities for exchange and processing.
He called for holding a specialized Jordanian-Lebanese economic meeting that brings together the concerned parties and the private sector, giving priority to the agricultural sector and food industries, to come out with practical understandings and joint projects that achieve integration instead of competition.
He called on Jordanian companies to participate in the (Agri Lebanon 2026) exhibition, scheduled to be held in Beirut from November 26 to 28 next, stressing the importance of investing the exhibition to hold specialized Jordanian-Lebanese meetings, especially in the agricultural sector, and to discuss the joint agricultural calendar and opportunities for integration in agricultural production, processing, and marketing, noting that the exhibition brings together farmers, companies, suppliers, experts, and official bodies, and covers seeds and fertilizers, irrigation systems, smart agriculture, plastic houses, agricultural equipment and machinery, packaging and food processing, in addition to livestock and poultry.
It should be noted that the Kingdom's exports to Lebanon, which are mainly concentrated on medicines and plant products, primarily dates, aluminum and its products, and food industry products, amounted to about 54 million dinars during the first half of this year, compared to 34 million dinars in imports.
The number of Lebanese partners registered with the Amman Chamber of Commerce, as of mid-September of this year, is 229 partners, with a total registered share of about 56 million dinars, distributed across multiple economic sectors, most notably services, consulting, construction, financial and banking sector, communications, information technology, health, and pharmaceuticals.
The meeting was attended by the Lebanese Ambassador to the Kingdom, Brigitte Touq, and members of the Chamber's Board of Directors, Alaa Deranieh and Falah Al-Saghir, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jordanian Association of Vegetable and Fruit Exporters and Producers, Mazen Hamarneh.
