VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #1867 2310439
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190439Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5768
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 6283
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3087
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 4113
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 4222
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0044
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 2196
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1828
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 5610
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0001
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0118
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC

UNCLAS AMMAN 001867 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA AND EEB/TTP/ABT 
CAIRO FOR FAS AGMINCOUNS JGRESSEL, APHIS ATTACHE EJONES 
UDSA FOR FSIS, FAS/TRADE PROGRAMS, FAS/GLOBAL ANALYSIS FAS FOR 
OFFICE OF GLOBAL ANALYSIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD SOCI JO
SUBJECT:  Boycott Planned to Protest Rising Meat Prices; GOJ Takes 
Steps to Ensure Supplies 
 
REFS:  A.  08 Amman 3121 
        ¶B.  08 Amman 2177 
        ¶C.  08 Amman 1616 
        ¶D.  07 Amman 3813 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU)  The private Jordanian Consumer Protection Society (JCPS) 
has called for a week-long national boycott of the purchase and 
consumption of red meat in protest of what it described as the 
"unjustified rise in red meat prices."  Historically, food prices in 
Jordan rise during the run-up to the holy month of Ramadan, but CPS 
blames recent increases on the primary importer of fresh meat 
(slandering it as a "greedy, monopolistic" importing company) and 
Government of Jordan (GOJ) policies during the 2008 spike in global 
commodity prices. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  A net food importing country, Jordan is particularly 
sensitive to price fluctuations.  It imports 80 percent of its red 
meat (Australia and New Zealand are the main sources for lamb) and 
97 percent of feed for livestock production.  Still reeling from 
high food, oil, and commodity prices in 2008 and the enduring impact 
of the economic crisis, consumer response to recent increases has 
been harsh.  Leading the charge, JCPS blames the GOJ for price 
hikes, arguing the government did little to assist farmers when feed 
prices went up, thereby forcing farmers to cull their herds to limit 
expenditures.  As a result, the domestic supply of meat is lower 
than usual.  Consumers are also reacting to reports that the 
Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) decided to resume sheep exports to 
Saudi Arabia, reviving old accusations that Jordan's neighbors 
benefit more from GOJ subsidies to farmers and herders than 
Jordanians (ref C).  MOA Director of Import-Export licenses Izzat 
Jaalin denied allegations of exports to Saudi Arabia while Ministry 
of Industry and Trade (MOIT) Director of Market Surveillance 
Hassouni Muhailan attributed price increases to normal market 
fluctuations. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Muhailan nevertheless confirmed that local firm Hijazi and 
Ghosheh Company is in effect monopolizing the sheep trade in Jordan 
and steadily expanding its reach across the region by buying in bulk 
and using its fleet of ships to transport live animals to the Gulf 
states, the Levant, and North Africa and providing meat at lower 
prices than other competitors. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Regardless of the real cause for recent food price 
increases and consumption decreases -- be it market demand, price 
gouging, or the boycott call -- the GOJ has taken notice and MOIT 
Secretary General Montasser Okla told shop owners, "the Ministry 
will follow up on price increases and ensure that importers commit 
to their promises not to increase prices during Ramadan."  MOIT has 
also expanded market surveillance and established new offices 
nationwide to receive complaints of unfair pricing.  The GOJ is also 
using its commissary, the quasi-official Civil Consumers 
Institution, to influence market prices by importing live sheep from 
Syria or Sudan to meet Ramadan demand. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
Beecroft