Figures and statistics have shown a notable decline of about 20 percent in Jordanian exports to Iraq and Syria over the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, despite the reopening of crossings, including the Nasib border crossing.
The Amman Chamber of Commerce said, according to the figures, that, “a notable decline in our exports to Iraq occurred over the first quarter of the year, with a rate of up to 10 percent compared to the same period in 2018. Exports to the Iraqi market in the first quarter were 107 million dinars compared with 118 million dinars, a decline of 11 million dinars compared to the same period last year.”
The Chamber’s figures showed that exports to the Syrian market over the first quarter witnessed a notable decline of 69 percent compared to the same period, with exports over the first three months about 18 million dinars compared with 60 million dinars over the same period in 2018.
The Zarqa Chamber of Commerce figures showed a sharp decline in exports to the Iraqi market over the first quarter of the year, falling to 18 million dinars, a decline of 30 percent compared with the 35 million dinars in the same period last year. It said that exports to Syria were no more than 150,000 dollars.
The head of Jordan and Amman’s Chamber of Commerce, Fathi Jugheiber, said that the manufacturing sector was working in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to remove all obstacles standing before the flow of goods between Jordan and Iraq through communication and bilateral discussions between the two sides. He said that there were a number of notes that would be provided to the Iraqis and that work was underway to restore the volume of commercial exchange to its normal level and above, especially in light of the easing security situation and the reopening of border crossing.
Jugheiber noted that this decline did not mean that matters would remain as they were, expecting that there would be an increase in trade and export volumes over the second quarter of the same year, reaching satisfactory rates for the sectors in the two countries, especially Iraq, adding that there were many positive indications in this respect. He said that there would be future meetings between Iraq and Jordan in which plans, expectations and solutions to the obstacles that challenge Jordan’s exports to Iraq, would be developed.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
