AMMAN - Domestically produced bananas cost the Kingdom far more than the current JD1.50 per kilo price tag indicates, according to experts.

Banana prices in Jordan are among the highest in the region due to protectionist trade policies, according to Amer Jabarin, professor of agricultural economics at the University of Jordan, adding that the water-intensive crops take up an exuberant amount of the Kingdom’s already scarce resources.

Banana cultivation consumes more than 1,200 cubic metres of water per dunum, he noted, adding that vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers consume 500 cubic metres of water, less than half that amount.

A tariff of JD250 is levied on every tonne of imported bananas as well as a 30 per cent value added tax, according to the US-funded Sustainable Achievement of Business Expansion and Quality (SABEQ) programme, making it virtually impossible for foreign bananas to compete on the local market.

Under the current tariff conditions, even if a carton of bananas were shipped to the Kingdom free of charge, each bunch would come with a 500 fils tax, Jabarin noted.

Banana tariffs were even written into the Kingdom’s World Trade Organisation agreement, making the produce the only crop to enjoy such treatment and forcing Jordanians to pay more for home-grown bananas, when imported produce would cost half the price, he said.

But banana production costs go far beyond protectionist measures.

The produce, as all crops in the Jordan Valley, enjoys a water subsidy, according to the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA).

Currently, the price of water for household purposes starts at 560 fils per cubic metre, and increases proportionately to the quantity of water consumed up to 850 fils, as set by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

Jordan Valley farmers, however, pay far less than the average Jordanian at 25 fils per cubic metre, according to the JVA, allowing banana plantation owners to use vast amounts of already-scarce resources at a discount, while maintaining a de facto monopoly on the Kingdom’s banana market.

“This practice is simply unjustifiable and it needs to end,” Jabarin told The Jordan Times.

According to a study released by SABEQ, there are 1.3 million fruit-bearing banana trees producing some 42,000 tonnes each year.

But there is also a social dimension to the water distribution, as there are some 10,000-12,000 families in the Jordan Valley area who depend on the sector, not only for their livelihoods, but also for sustenance, Jabarin stressed.

“We must weigh the cost in water subsidies against the welfare of some 70,000-80,000 citizens dependant on those subsidies,” Jabarin noted.

Some banana plantation owners and workers have been resistant to the suggestion of switching crops.

Mohammad Ahmad, a 45-year-old banana farmer, said that he sees little reason why he should switch to other, lower grossing crops.

“Growing bananas is one of the few ways we can make money in the valley. There is no industry for us, not many schools and few businesses like people have in the cities,” he noted.

“Why take away the one thing we do have?” he added, noting that after paying operational costs, his harvest earns his family some JD500 a month compared to JD200 for other crops.

Mahmoud, 24, who works with Ahmad on the farm, added that the crop is less susceptible to diseases or damage from harsh weather conditions.

“It is much safer to grow than vegetables,” he noted.

Jabarin suggested that banana farmers look to products that are more in demand by foreign countries. Bell and chilli peppers, which are a staple of Hungarian and Romanian cuisines, grow well in the Kingdom and farmers would make similar profits by exporting them, he noted.

But smaller farmers, who make up the bulk of Jordan Valley farmers, said they have difficulty in accessing foreign markets.

“It is much easier to sell our products to Amman than Europe,” Mahmoud said.

According to JVA Secretary General Musa Jamaini, farmers are discouraged from using such water-intensive crops.

“We have a limited amount of water and we are actively encouraging farmers to replace bananas with other vegetables,” Jamaini told The Jordan Times yesterday.

Through efforts coordinated with the Agriculture Ministry, the JVA has reduced the amount of land used for banana production from 30,000 dunums to 10,000 dunums in the last few years, he added.

“We urge banana plantation owners to switch to industrial agriculture, such as canned vegetables or juices, which bring similar amounts of revenue,” Jamaini noted.

Ahmad, meanwhile, stands by his choice of crop.

“I am going to grow bananas for as long as I live,” he added.