Jordan

Ocrober 4, 2022: The OPEC Fund for International Development is providing a US$100 million loan to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for an Emergency Food Security Project, which will increase the country’s food security and help mitigating the impact of rising commodity prices. The Emergency Food Security Project will support Jordan’s medium-term investments to enhance food security as well as the country’s short-term emergency response. The construction and expansion of 70 grain bunkers will increase Jordan’s storage capacity of wheat and barley by a total of 700,000 tons. The funds will also facilitate the procurement of these two vital agricultural commodities. Jordan is a net importer of food and the more than 10.5 million people living in the country – among them close to 1.3 million refugees from Syria – have been severely affected by the recent supply crisis. Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh and OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa in Amman signed the loan agreement today. Dr. Alkhalifa said: “Ensuring food security is one of the most pressing global challenges at the moment and the OPEC Fund is committed to supporting affected countries with a US$1 billion Food Security Action Plan. We are pleased to extend our support to Jordan, where our financing will help vulnerable households and refugees as well as strengthen the resilience of the food sector.” The additional grain supply will be imported through sea freight with 13 vessels, each carrying 60,000 metric tons of grain products. The new bunkers will be located in Al-Qatrana, Al-Mowakkar and Al-Ghabawi and create storage capacity for up to four years. Jordan relies heavily on imports from the Black Sea region to cover its grain consumption, accounting for 98 percent of wheat imports and 78 percent of barely imports. Following the war in Ukraine and the global repercussions Jordan has adopted a National Food Security Strategy, which …