Saudi Arabia lifts ban on Jordanian agricultural produce

Saudi Arabia lifted a 21-year-old ban on Jordanian agricultural products, Jordan’s Ministry of Agriculture said.

Jordanian fruit and vegetable exports to Saudi Arabia are due to resume in mid-June, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. Shipments were halted after allegations that Jordan used waste water for irrigation, Mohammad Fawaeer, head of the crop and production unit at the ministry, said in a telephone interview today.

“All agricultural produce to be exported to Saudi Arabia will be irrigated from underground water wells,” Fawaeer said.

Jordan exported last year about 750,000 tonnes of vegetables and fruit to the Gulf states, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Europe, according to ministry figures. The kingdom exported 213,228 tonnes of fruits and vegetables to Saudi Arabia in 1990, the last year produce was allowed to enter the country.