AMMAN — The textile sector has been
hard-hit by the pandemic and the subsequent economic collapse, according to
industry insiders.
Ehab Qadri, the representative of
the leather industries and knitting sector at the Jordan Chamber of Industry,
said that the
COVID-19 pandemic has had a damaging impact on the leather and
weaving sector, as it is still among the sectors most affected by the pandemic.
اضافة اعلان
Qadri said that the local sales of
small and medium enterprises have been greatly affected by a decline in demand
of more than 60 percent over the past years, as a result of a decrease in
demand in the local market, since leather products and knits are non-essential
commodities.
Additionally, he noted the impact of
the comprehensive and partial curfews that limit the movement of people and the
sector’s ability to sell its products, especially during the seasonal holidays,
in addition to the closure of schools and universities.
Qadri stressed the need for the
government to make a decision during the second half of Ramadan regarding the
reopening of economic sectors, the reduction of the curfew, and the abolition
of the comprehensive Friday curfew, which exhausted most economic sectors and
greatly affected purchasing power.
The government on Wednesday did
announce an end to the Friday lockdown, while leaving in place curfew times.
Khaled Omrani, member of the
General Syndicate of Workers in the Textile and Apparel Industry, said that there are
around 74,130 workers in the sector, 18,402 of whom are Jordanians working in
94 factories. Omrani explained that garments and related exports were valued at
over 1.9 billion and accounted for about 23 percent of the country’s total
exports in 2019 with 11 percent growth compared to 2018.
Asaad Al-Qawasmi, a representative
of the garment sector at the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, claimed that there is
no specific measurement of closures caused by the pandemic in the garment
sector. “Yes, there are clear closures, especially among small merchants, but
there is no specific number for them,” he said. Qawasmi added that no major
brands had left Jordan due to the pandemic and restrictions despite the closure
of smaller businesses.
“Nobody left us recently. The last
brand that left Jordan was about six years ago,” he said. He stressed the
importance of opening the commercial sectors as soon as possible to sell
accumulated stocks.
MP Ahmed Al-Sarahneh, head of the
Health Committee at the House of Representatives, said that government policies
such as the continued closure of businesses and restrictions on the movement of
people, in addition to the curfew hours have affected the national economy in
almost every sector.
“The economic impact is clear. There
are many local and international companies and brands affected, some of them
closed, some of them reduced the number of branches, and others left the
governorates and were satisfied with opening only in Amman,” the MP said.
Sarahneh emphasized the danger of these changes on the percentage of manpower
needed and the increase in unemployment rates.
MP Khaled Abu Hassan, head of the
investment and economic committee in the Lower House, echoed Sarahneh and
stressed the importance of promptly addressing the economic situation. “The
priority now must be to deal with the effects of closures,” he said. Abu Hassan
also pointed out that the economic collapse is global nor exclusive to
Jordan’s economy.
According to Abu Hassan, loosening
restrictions is vital to restoring the Jordanian economy’s power. “It is a must
to reopen sectors since they represent an important support for the national
economy,” he said. “Also, we have to strengthen people’s purchasing power by
addressing the previous problems that existed before the pandemic, such as
simplifying and facilitating government procedures, unifying the customs tariff
clauses in one clause, reducing customs duties, reviewing the tax base, in
addition to reducing the bank benefits granted either to companies or
individuals.”
Abu Hassan also emphasized the
importance of reducing the energy bill which is one of the most important
factors to making the economy competitive. “The energy costs must be
re-examined in order to achieve two goals: the first is to develop the existing
industries and the second is to reduce unemployment rates, as the energy bill
will support local industries that support manpower,” he concluded.
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