Olive exports banned, including to Israel

AMMAN — Authorities have recently banned exports of olive fruits to some markets, including Israel, a government official confirmed Monday.  

The official explained that the decision was taken on grounds of protecting the interests of farmers as it is more feasible for them to have their produce pressed and sold as oil than exported for pickling purposes. 

Due to high temperatures and several heatwaves and dusty conditions witnessed around the Kingdom this year, farmers waited until after mid-October to start harvesting olives, which means the fruits became riper and had higher oil concentrations, the official, who requested anonymity, said.

“It is not recommended to export olives containing high amounts of oil," he told The Jordan Times.

Traditionally, farmers wait for the first rains to clean the olives before pressing but this year, the trees were too dusty even to pick for exporting, let alone that it is not healthy for them to harvest the produce when the fruit is coated with a thick layer of dust.

The best period of harvesting olive for pickling is the beginning of October, according to the official, who added that the produce is usually exported to Israel, Gulf and other Arab countries. 

He added that in recent years, Israel has been one of the Kingdom's main olive and olive oil markets.

Fayyad Zyoud, chairman of the Jordan Olive Products Exporters Association, has previously stated that the production of olives this year amounted to 220,000-230,000 tonnes, of which around 60,000 tonnes are exported as fruit. 

Despite the difficult weather conditions, this year's olive production saw an increase of 25 to 30 per cent compared to previous years, according to Zyoud.

With more than 20 million trees across the Kingdom, Jordan is listed among the top 10 olive producing countries in the world.