(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The massive drought and heatwave sweeping the US will not affect prices of wheat and barley in the Kingdom as the country's strategic storage of the staple grains is enough for nine months, an official said on Sunday.
"Jordan has a good strategic storage of wheat and barley in its warehouses and the government has recently purchased more than 100,000 tonnes of the staples," Hassouni Mheilan, director of the industry and trade ministry's market control department, said.
Jordan consumes 68,000 tonnes of wheat and 55,000 tonnes of barley a month, according to official figures.
Jordan produces around 5 per cent of its needs of wheat while the rest is imported from other countries, mainly the US, according to the Department of Statistics (DoS).
The Kingdom imported 98 per cent of its wheat needs in 2009 and 96 per cent in 2010, DoS reports said.
However, Agriculture Ministry Secretary General Radi Tarawneh warned that Jordan might be affected by the drought in the US and other countries as prices of key agricultural commodities such as corn and soybeans will soar if the situation remains unchanged.
"Prices of corn in the local market are somewhat stable now but soon they will rise, affected by the increase in international prices," Tarawneh told The Jordan Times.
Grain prices in the US, the world's largest grain exporter, hit record highs at the end of the trading week on Friday, while the worst drought in half-a-century showed little sign of abating, Reuters reported.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, soybeans for August delivery set a new record high of $17.77-3/4 a bushel. Corn for September delivery jumped to a record $8.28-3/4 a bushel, and September wheat gained 8-1/4 cents to $9.44-3/4, a new four-year high.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.