Jordan has exported around 3,000 tons of olives to Israel this year, according to the spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nimer Haddadin.

Olive-picking season started around a month and a half ago. However, the oil content in each olive was much less this year, due to the rise in temperatures and lack of rain.

Haddadin said that produce is exported to Israel every year with an agreement between Israeli merchants and Jordanian farmers.

He added that less quantities are exported to the rest of the Arab world.

Once the olives have been transported to Israel, they are repackaged and sold as an “Israeli product.”

Trading with Israel has provoked widespread public anger in Jordan, as many considered this a symbol of “normalizing and legitimizing Israel.”

Jordan is bound by a peace agreement with Israel and a commercial annex to the agreement allowing trade exchange between them.

Meanwhile, the National Committee Against Normalization in Jordan has urged farmers to stop exporting olives to Israel.

One of the ways the Committee puts pressure on farmers is by keeping a Blacklist of those who trade with Israeli merchants.

The Ministry of Agriculture estimates the amount of olive oil to be produced this season (2017/18) at around 36,000 tons, and 202,000 tons of olives.