JCC, US Department of Agriculture highlight importance of food security

AMMAN — Representative of the foodstuff sector at the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Raed Hamadah and regional attaché for the US Department of Agriculture Elizabeth Miller on Sunday discussed means to enhance agricultural and food security cooperation between the countries.

Hamadah referred to the food sector’s role during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which traders sustained the Kingdom's food imports with no commodity shortages, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He also stressed the JCC's role as an umbrella organisation for Jordan's commercial and service sectors, under which essential economic matters are managed by resolving any issues through constant coordination with the relative government institutions.

Despite tariffs and taxes, Jordan's food industry has established a foothold in worldwide markets, particularly in the US, he added.

The JCC member also highlighted the importance of US support for Jordan's food sector, particularly considering the shortages of vegetable oils and wheat resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian war. 

He called on the US to invest in Jordan's agricultural sector and connect with local agricultural manufacturing and production companies.

Jordan has benefited "remarkably" from the free trade agreement signed with the US, which granted national products access to the US market, he said.

Miller reiterated her country's keenness to support Jordan's agricultural industry and remove any barriers hindering the flow of commerce between the nations.

She also referred to several US agricultural and food assistance programmes now being implemented in Jordan, which include training personnel in the sector.