AMMAN — The
volume of Jordanian imports from
Russia decreased in the first four months of
this year by 61 percent, compared to the same period last year, according to
the monthly report of the Department of Statistics.
اضافة اعلان
The value of
imports from Russia during this period amounted to JD33.709 million, compared
to JD86.752 million last year.
The report
indicated that the volume of imports from Russia in April increased by 62
percent, compared to April last year, reaching JD9.829 million, compared to
JD3.753 million last year.
Jordan imports
barley, chickpeas, iron, copper, sugar products, and sunflower oil, from Russia
according to the 2020 data. The Kingdom’s most important exports to Russia are
fertilizers, dates, and clothing.
On the other
hand, the volume of imports from
Ukraine in the first four months of 2022
decreased by 42 percent compared to the same period last year, amounting to
JD26.778 million; they were worth JD46.337 million in 2021.
The volume of
imports from Ukraine decreased by 80 percent in April, compared to the same
month last year, reaching JD2.032 million; they were JD10.010 million in April
last year.
Exports to
Ukraine, the report indicated, increased by 59 percent, in the first four
months of this year, to reach JD845,000, compared to JD532,000 in the first four months of 2021.
Economic expert
Mazen Irsheid said that there are other countries Jordan can import from but at
a higher cost than importing from Russia and Ukraine, “because Jordan will have
to buy them at inflated international prices, and this will lead to a high
import bill for these goods”.
Eventually, Irsheid said, Jordan will have to import from several other
countries, which may pose challenges as many froze their exports to provide for
their citizens at lower prices.
Jordan imports
about 80 percent of its food needs at very high international prices, and this
will lead to a worsening trade deficit, Irsheid said.
Economic expert
Yousef Al-Damra said that Jordan’s volume of trade with Russia and Ukraine is
not “great”, compared to that of a country like Egypt, and “therefore the
degree of economic exposure is not high, and this is a positive thing in light
of the current conditions and the repercussions of the
Ukrainian-Russian war”.
He added that
Jordan “will turn to alternative markets in light of low volume of trade” with
these two countries.
Economic expert
Zayyan Zawaneh said that Jordan’s volume of trade with Russia and Ukraine is
relatively small, as the figures show, stressing that “global markets are
available as an alternative, but the impact of the high import cost for
Jordan’s needs remains the biggest challenge, whether from Russia, Ukraine or
others, due to the widening trade deficit which was shown by the figures of the
first four months of the year, which rose from JD2.5 billion to JD3 billion,
and thus the volume of foreign currency needed to cover imports will increase,
as shown by the figures for Jordan oil bill in the first four months of this
year, which rose by 70 percent”.
Zawaneh said
that Jordan spends about JD3 billion worth of imports annually, and its annual
bill will rise by up to JD2 billion, which puts pressure on foreign reserves.
He expressed hope that
the exports of mineral products, tourism returns and remittances will fill the
gap, “which has improved remarkably.”
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