AMMAN — The value of Jordan’s
industrial exports has increased from JD500 million to JD5 billion over the
last two decades, constituting today 25 percent of the GDP, sector leaders
said.
اضافة اعلان
Industrial exports, which today make
up 90 percent of the Kingdom's total exports, reach 142 countries, Ahmed Khudari,
president of
Jordan Exporters Association (JEA), told
Jordan News Saturday.
Khudari said that this achievement is
due to bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the ones
with the US and Canada, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and the Greater Arab
Free Trade Agreement, as well as to Jordan’s joining the
World Trade Organization (WTO).
Khudari, who is also deputy
president of the
Amman Chamber of Industry, said that the COVID-19 crisis has
revealed the need for Jordan to become self-reliant, increase production, and
expand and diversify existing industrial investments to reach self-sufficiency
in many commodities, in a way that supports the national security.
He noted that boosting exports is a
solution for many economic challenges, including unemployment, as finding new
markets will require increased production, and thus more labor force, in
addition to increasing the inflow of hard currency and improving the balance of
trade.
The official said that the
association works on increasing exports by participating in international exhibitions
in many markets, including the
US, Canada, Australia, Africa, and the
Gulf countries,
adding that Jordan will take part in the Gulfood Expo, which starts on February
13.
He added that JEA is sending a trade
mission to South American countries like Argentina and Chile to look for new
markets.
Khudari called for establishing
central warehouses for Jordanian products in countries like the US to facilitate
supply to companies, especially leading online retail companies, by avoiding
shipping complications that take longer time.
According to figures from the
Department of Statistics (DoS), products that top Jordanian exports are chemicals
and textiles followed by metals and foodstuff.
In 2020, the value of Jordanian food
exports reached JD307 million, while it stood at JD279 million the year before,
according to DoS.
Economist
Wajdi Makhamreh told
Jordan News that the Jordanian industry requires more support from the public
sector, and that could be lent by establishing a partnership with the private
sector to help Jordanian products reach new markets.
Makhamreh called for continuous
evaluation of trade agreements with other countries to assess their benefits to
the Jordanian economy.
Yousef Damrah, an economy expert, called
for supporting the industrial sector through more incentives and reducing
production costs, especially that of energy.
Damrah also said countries that
Jordan does not export to should be explored and the reasons addressed; they
might be high costs of shipping or price of commodities upon arrival at
destination.
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