Change of rule allow re-entry of US chicken legs into Jordan market

Chicken legs from the US will be sold in Jordan markets again following the scrapping of a packaging rule by the Middle Eastern country.

The sale of US chicken legs had dropped since 2010 after a rule that restricted the weight of packages to 2.5kg (5.5 pounds). However, according to the new rules, packages of up to 15kgs will now be allowed for food processing.

The rule was brought in to protect the local poultry industry and to enhance food safety, as the country feared that chicken legs in bigger packages were being repackaged in smaller sizes.

According to USDA Amman agriculture specialist, after the initial rule change, Jordan had been put ‘in breach of its commitments’ under the World Trade Organization and Jordan-US free trade agreements.

The new rule had resulted in an increase in imports from Brazil, who followed regulations complying with the changed rule.

With the repeal of the rule, US imports to Jordan in April were recorded at around 2,911.2mt, which was the highest amount to be imported since 2011, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Bloomberg quoted Jordan’s Ministry of Agriculture spokesman Nimer Haddadin as saying that the country caters to 90% of its poultry requirements through its local poultry market, and imports the remaining required amount from Brazil and the US.

Jordan Foodstuff Traders Association vice-president Khaldoun Aqqad said: "At first our imports rose sharply from Brazil because the US couldn’t meet the new rules. Now this will greatly help increase our imports from the US."

While the prices of chicken had shot up by 30% after the ruling, the increased supply are helping the country stabilise the prices, which usually increase during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

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Image: US import of chicken legs to Jordan in April 2015 was recorded at around 2,911.2 metric tons. Photo: courtesy of amenic181/freedigitalphotos.net.