Jordan Developing Produce Exports Latest Press Release on Jordan By Lisa F Rhodes Associate for Corporate Communications, Sigma One Corporation With the help of the Agricultural Marketing Development Project (AMDP), Jordan's agricultural sectoris poised for takeoff. In recent years, European and PersianGulf markets for high value horticultural products asgrapes, cauliflower,asparagus and melons have expanded into a globally integratednetwork. In Europe demand for high quality produce is rising rapidly,especially during the winter season. The European Union alone is a consumermarket of 380 million people. Producefrom all points onthe globe now servethese markets year round. Jordan ison the way to becoming a solid link in this network. Jordanian growers arefinding unique opportunities toexploit international trade in fruit and vegetables. Onthe economic front, world leaders have approved GATT and givensupport to the formation of the World Trade Organization. The political scenehas changed alongwith the economic outlook. The Middle East peace process has openedpromising new avenues for Israeli-Jordanianjoint ventures. Jordan's lower production costs have made suchventures appealing tothe Israelis, while Jordan hasbenefited by continually improving its ability to producequality fruits and vegetables through its access to new markets. Price windowsare disappearing,and markets aretending toward longer-term arrangementsrather than the traditional section-based arrangements of the past. InSoutheast Asia new markets are also opening. Takentogether, these conditions provided a positive climatefor Jordan's fruitand vegetable producers. In 1988 Jordan, with one third of its economy linked to agribusiness, had notyet achieved its potential for high value fruit and vegetable exports.Obstacles to Jordan'ssuccess in these areas included external marketingproblems caused in part by lack of knowledge or understanding of market conditions or acceptable standards of qualityin export markets. In an effort to overcome theseproblems, the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment(USAID) and the Hashemite Kingdom ofJordan collaborated to implement the Agricultural MarketingDevelopmentProject. The AMDP's primary goal is to help Jordan'sfruit and vegetable growers increase their productivityand their income, through improvedmarket efficiencies inboth domestic and export markets.AMDP started in 1988 asa marketing development project. By 1996 it had become afully integrated and highly innovative horticultural operation and export promotion project. Central to this horticultural operation and the export promotion project has been on-site training of participants. With the help ofexpertise from the USAID contractor, Sigma One Corporation, inthe Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, the AMDP developed a multifaceted program designed to increase the knowledge and awareness of all producers, exporters and marketers of fresh produce. Throughexporter contact trips, observation tours and trial marketing shipments, Jordanian growers and businessmennot only found newmarkets for their products but equally important gained a clearer understandingof the qualityand delivery standards demanded by global markets. Through AMDP, farmers have visited packing houses in theUnited States, Europe and the Gulf,and have gained a greater understanding of how postharvesttechniques must be monitored. Growers and exporters have benefited from training in business management techniques that help them assess the profitabilityof export ventures. Knowledge of prices,costs of transportation and other factors help Jordanian growers determinethe export risks before they ship. Such information wasnot available prior to the formation of the AMDP. AMDP is implemented through the Agricultural Marketing Organization,a government entity.Through AMO, growers and exporters have access to a comprehensive national marketing database. The AMO staff issues and distributesmarket outlook reports and marketing information as wellas providing postharvesthandling, packaging, temperature and transportation requirements and information on pesticidesresidue tolerances in importing countries. All of thisinformation is essential to Jordan's ability to competeinternationally in international markets. A key aspect of the AMDP program has been a new marketing strategy.Traditionally Jordan's most marketable commodities have been cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots and squash. The AMDP moved awayfrom these staplesof die domestic agricultural sector toconcentrate on high-valuehorticultural crops such as green beans, hot and green peppers,asparagus, cauliflower, apples, seedless grapes, citrus, strawberries and melons. In addition, AMDP has encouraged cut flower exports.Because of restrictivegovernment policies and laws discouragingvertical integration, mostproducers are independent growers who compete with each other. Few growers are also exporters.Most of Jordan'sfresh produce is sold through wholesale markets.Arrangements to ship fruits and vegetables to the Gulfregion where commissionagents sell the produce on their behalf are made by"traders". Jordanian exporters sell directly to Western Europeanagents who represent firms in wholesale markets or largeretailers of fresh produce. Jordan's growing season has proved a major asset in its drive tojoin internationaltrade networks. Jordan's sunny, semiarid and and climate, along an elevationgradient ofover 1,500 meters, has created perfect ecological niches for growing fruit, vegetables and flowers year round. With a growing season similar to southern Horidaand the Colorado River Valley in northwest Mexico, Jordan's farmers have opportunitiesfor year-round cultivation.Its lengthy growing season allows exports to the Gulf region year round withthe peak season from April to August. Jordan supplies Western European buyers withproduce from November to February.Grapes are the exception,exported only in May, June and July. Over 95 percent ofJordan's current exports go to the Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman andMuscat. The main point of entry forJordan's exports inDubai in the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom,France, Germany and Belgium purchase the remainder of Jordan's horticultural exports. In Western Europe, Jordan must competewith Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey andMorocco to get a share of this expanding market. With thecontinued successof the AMDP, Jordan hopes to expand its market share and to one day see its fresh produce crossthe borders of EasternEurope and Southeast Asia as well. One key to market expansion has been the realization thatproduce quality must be maintained from harvest topurchase. Improved postharvest techniques have been implemented, from packaging toprecooling. These techniques ensurethat quality of produceremains high throughout the cold chain process.Fresh produce is packedin cardboard boxesand then Euro-palletized for export to Western Europe. For shipmentto the Gulf, most produce goes in polystyrene boxes with some fruits packaged in plasticcrates and wooden boxes. Precooling techniques have been introduced with thecontribution of mobile demonstration units designed topromote understanding of the coldchain. Currently, construction of a cold storage facility to hold produce in transit is underway at Queen Alia InternationalAirport in Amman. Skillfully building on its assets, Jordan's fruit and vegetable exportershave come a longway. However, severalchallenges must still be met.Current control of retail prices by the Jordanian government at the wholesalemarkets acts as a disincentive to quality differentiation. It also deters farmers and exporters from investing in technologies andpractices that could enhance quality and increase international marketability of Jordanian produce. Currentlaws discourage development of vertically integrated firms and government policies favorimports and import-competing activities and domestic services overexport-oriented activities. Transportation andinfrastructure problems, though improved with help fromAMO, still hamper the AMDP's ability to serveinternationalmarkets. With the help of its Sigma One Corporation international advisers from the United Statesand Europe, the AMDP is finding ways to meet these challenges. An example shows how much progress has beenmade. Until recently in an effort to reduce overproduction, the Jordanian government placed limits on the amount of farmland growers could devote to certain crops. Whilethis policy did reduce overproduction somewhat, it pitted farmersagainst the government, making cooperation more difficult. The AMO has successfully eliminated the cropping pattern policy in exchange for an informationsystem that allowsthem to obtain up-to-date production and marketing information. Now farmers, equipped withmarket data, can decide for themselves what crops toproduce and in what quantities, based on sound knowledge of market conditions. Jordanian growers and exporters can now turn to a numberof different sources forthis market intelligence. In 1994 the Jordan Exportersand ProducersAssociation for Fruitand Vegetables (JEPAFV) was established.This group consists of 100 members who work to set up local and intemationalcontacts, help coordinateinternational marketing efforts and represent its members in debates about government agricultural trade policies. Earlierthis year representativesfrom the JEPAFV visited theUnited Fresh Fruitand Vegetable Associationand the Produce Marketing Association of the United States togain insightinto the operations of well establishedprivate membership organizations. Prior to the Gulf War, AMDP was implemented through AMO. In recent years the private sector has become readily accessiblethrough JUPAFV, and implementation of AMDPhas required close collaboration withboth the public and the private sector. 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