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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Chairman of the Agriculture and Water Committee at the House, Khaled Al-Hayari, said Prime Minister Dr. Hani al-Mulki affirmed during his meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector on Thursday that the unprocessed raw materials, as promised by the government previously, are not subject to the amendment of the sales tax, including live animals and poultry, as well as vegetables and fruits.

Al-Hayari noted the Prime Minister said agricultural exports are not subject to sales tax and the issue of tax exemption was previously underscored.

Al-Hayari pointed out the Prime Minister promised to study the exemption of agricultural sector's production inputs from the amendment of the sales tax, and said further study is needed to identify the economic impact of such a step.

His remarks came during a meeting between Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki and the chairman and members of the House Agriculture Committee and representatives of the agricultural sector in the presence of the ministers of the State for Prime Ministry, Dr. Mamdouh Al-Abadi, Water and Irrigation, Hazem Al-Nasser, the State for Media Affairs, Dr. Mohammad Al-Momani and Agriculture, Khaled Hneifat.

During the meeting, the premier said the agricultural sector is one of the Kingdom's crucial economic sectors and pointed out the government is exerting its utmost efforts to open fresh markets for national agricultural products.

Mulki pointed out these efforts led to the opening of the border crossing with Iraq and Jordanian trucks will be able to enter Iraq next week.

The Prime Minister highlighted diverse measures taken by the government to help the agricultural sector axe costs, boost marketing, and increase exporting.

The Prime Minister pointed to the difficult economic challenges facing Jordan, and said the problems are not difficult to resolve, but need orchestrated efforts of all sectors and to achieve the desired development.

The government recognizes legitimate requests and measures necessary for the sectors, Mulki said, stressing the importance of robust economic and commercial activity, and warned otherwise the agricultural sector will not be able to sell and market its production, whatever the exemptions if citizens' purchasing power is modest.

The Prime Minister said the country's consumption of flour had fallen in the last few weeks by 40 percent, which is worth 60 million dinars ($ 90 million).

He pointed out the low consumption of flour is offset by the decrease in similar quantities of bran, which drove the government to start importing this material to compensate for any deficiency in this possible cattle fodder.

The Prime Minister called on the agricultural sector to consider new agricultural patterns and alternatives to barley through the cultivation of alfalfa and corn to be used to feed livestock.