- Title: Jordan's olive farmers gear up for busy harvest season
- Date: 6th November 2018
- Summary: JERASH, JORDAN (NOVEMBER 2, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUN SEEN BETWEEN BRANCHES OF OLIVE TREE VARIOUS OF OLIVE TREES IN FARM VARIOUS OF OLIVES HANGING ON TREE BRANCHES EXTERIOR OF OLIVE PRESS, SIGN READING (Arabic): "Yanbou' Press" BAGS OF OLIVES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN FARMER, AHMED ATOUM, SAYING "The olive tree is a blessed tree, and we can't do without it every year. It was mentioned in the Quran, and in this area we depend on olives, as farmers we need this tree, we sell (the olives), we eat them and we store them." VARIOUS OF MEN EMPTYING BAGS OF OLIVES VARIOUS OF OLIVES ON MOVING BELT PEOPLE WATCHING OLIVES ON MOVING BELT OLIVES DROPPED INTO WATER OLIVES BEING SORTED OLIVES BEING CRUSHED EMPTY CONTAINERS TO BE FILLED WITH OLIVE OIL VARIOUS OF OLIVE OIL POURING OUT OF MACHINE MAN CARRYING CONTAINER FOR OLIVE OIL WITH CUSTOMER, IBRAHIM ALAYAN, WALKING NEARBY ALAYAN AND OTHERS WATCHING OLIVE OIL BEING POURED INTO CONTAINERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CUSTOMER, IBRAHIM ALAYAN, SAYING: "We tasted the olives, we checked them before tasting them, we saw the quality of the olives, the local olives which are 100 percent excellent. We tried their olive oil last year, and it still tastes fresh like it was pressed today, or even better than the newly pressed oil when it is left for a while." VARIOUS OF OIL POURED INTO CONTAINERS MEN STACKING CONTAINERS
- Embargoed: 20th November 2018 13:15
- Keywords: Olive oil in Jordan Jordan olive oil production Olives Jordanian factory
- Location: JERASH, JORDAN
- City: JERASH, JORDAN
- Country: Jordan
- Topics: Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA00195D9IS5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Olive farmers are rolling up their sleeves as they brace for a busy harvest season in Jordan, contributing to one of the most successful industries in the kingdom.
In a plant in the northern governorate of Jerash, farmer Ahmed Atoum has been extracting olive oil during the harvest season which usually starts in October and lasts until January.
"The olive tree is a blessed tree, and we can't do without it every year. It was mentioned in the Quran, and in this area we depend on olives, as farmers we need this tree, we sell (the olives), we eat them and we store them," said the farmer who owns an olive press in Jerash.
The Ministry of Agriculture said in a report this year that the olive sector contributes positively to the economy, providing a source of income to more than 80,000 families.
The report also predicted that the production of olive oil will reach 24,000 tonnes this year, up from 22,000 in previous years. The price of one tin can of olive oil, roughly carrying 16 kgs, ranges between 90 and 100 Jordanian Dinars ($120 - $140).
Customers usually prefer to head directly to Atoum's press to buy fresh olive oil.
"We tasted the olives, we checked them before tasting them, we saw the quality of the olives, the local olives which are 100 percent excellent. We tried their olive oil last year, and it still tastes fresh like it was pressed today, or even better than the newly pressed oil when it is left for a while," customer Ibrahim Alayan said.
There are 132 olive oil presses across Jordan, which have made the country self-sufficient in oil and allowed it to export part of its produce to various countries around the world, the ministry report added.
Most of Jordan's produce of olive oil is consumed locally, with the rest of output exported to regional markets including the Gulf, Israel, India, France, Italy and other countries.
There are nearly 10.5 million olive trees in Jordan, making it one of the top olive-producing countries in the world. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
