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Ammon News - AMMAN– The Foodstuff Traders Association (FTA) warned on Sunday that the Kingdom's stocks of various food staples will decline over the next few days if a crippling strike by the customs department workers persists.

The FTA said in a statement that 4,000 containers loaded with various food items, including refrigerated meat, had been stuck at customs centres at the country's borders for over a week now, awaiting clearance.

It said it had begun to feel a shortage in the supply of basic food commodities and warned that further delays would lead to a sharp reduction in the stocks in the local market, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan when demand rises, in addition to the huge losses that importers would incur.

"This means that any continuation of the work stoppage will undermine the Kingdom's food security since food stocks are being replenished daily through ongoing import of commodities," it cautioned, appealing to the government to intercede swiftly to end the strike.

"Some of the foodstuff lying stranded at the customs centres is consumed only during Ramadan and cannot bear delay, while some will already be rotting," the statement added.

It said that action by the customs department staff would result in additional costs and fees for the importers who are suffering a JD50 loss a day for each container due to delayed merchandise clearance.

The statement urged the government to exempt the foodstuff importers from punitive fees owing to delayed clearance to curb any price rise in the local market as ultimately the citizens would have to bear such costs. (Petra)