QALQILIYA - A truckload of eggs produced in the West Bank was exported to Jordan via King Hussein Bridge on Sunday, turning a new page in commercial relations between Jordan and Palestine.

The eggs were collected from farmers in Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank, who welcomed the step as a vital alternative to the Israeli market.

“This is a remarkable Palestinian accomplishment which enables Palestinian farmers to sell their products to our Jordanian brothers,” said Adnan Zaid, a farmer from Qalqiliya.

He explained that Palestinian poultry breeders buy all the material they need such as fodder, veterinary medicines and other goods from Israel. However, he added, Israel does not allow Palestinian products into its markets and has started to import eggs from Turkey.

The Palestinian Authority Minister of Agriculture Walid Assaf had contacted his Jordanian counterpart who agreed to the Palestinian import, according to the director of the ministry's office in Qalqiliya Ahmad Eid.

He highlighted that poultry breeders in Palestine were complaining to the minister of agriculture that they have serious difficulties marketing their products. The Jordanians agreed very quickly to the Palestinian request, added Eid.