Iraq Blocks Jordanian Trucks

Iraqi border authorities have blocked the entry of 75 Jordanian trucks, loaded with vegetables and fruit, citing the start of the harvest season in Iraq, Saadi Abu Hammad, president of Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruits and Vegetables, said on Saturday.

Hammad told Petra that all the produce was damaged since the trucks had remained stranded at the border.

Over a month ago, Iraqi authorities announced that all produce from Jordan will have unrestricted access into Iraq without having to obtain a license, as was the norm previously, even as security remained the truckers' biggest concern.

Iraq's move to ease border restrictions, including a sharp reduction in truck entry fees, had given a boost to Jordanian vegetable and fruit exports, prompting robust transport despite the precarious long journey into the conflict-wracked country.

Jordanian produce currently amounts to over half of total Jordanian exports to Iraq.

(Source: Petra)