AMMAN — Industrial exports shot up to their highest value in a decade as a result of
an unprecedented increase in fertilizer exports to fill in a global gap caused
by Russia’s war in Ukraine, economists contended.
اضافة اعلان
Jordanian industrial exports in the first quarter of
the year reached a 10-year record of JD2.38 billion, also marking a growth of
53.7 percent, over the corresponding period in 2021, the Jordan Chamber of
Industry reported.
Economist Mazen Irsheid told
Jordan News that
the primary reason for the increase was “the export of agricultural fertilizer
from phosphate and potash companies, which are one of the largest producers of
fertilizers in the Arab region and the Middle East.”
Another economist, Zayyan Zawaneh concurred.
“Phosphate and potash are the main component of the industrial exports from
Jordan,” he told
Jordan News.
“This led to the rise in Jordanian exports; coupled
with a lack of supply from the global markets (this has) put the Jordanian
product at the forefront,” he explained.
Fathi Al-Jahbir, president of the Jordan and Amman
chambers of industry, said the growth was the result of efforts made in recent
years, starting from cooperation with the relevant authorities, institutions,
and international organizations supporting the industry.
Other reasons included the participation in trade
fairs, such as the Baghdad Expo held last December, which clearly reflected
positively on Jordanian industrial exports, leading to a 35 percent growth
during the first four months of 2022.
Jaghbir told
Jordan News that Jordanian
industrial exports in the first quarter of this year reached 133 markets
worldwide, with the US topping the list, receiving 19.5 percent of the total
industrial exports, which included clothing and fertilizer products. India came
second, with a share of 18.1 percent, he added.
Jaghbir called for the need to reduce the cost of
production and provide concessional financing programs by the Central Bank of
Jordan to meet rising prices, partly caused by the hiked interest rates.
Considering that
the enterprises in the industrial sector originally suffer from insufficient
liquidity to finance their production plans, the rises will clearly affect
their credit facilities, especially those given to small and medium-sized
entrepreneurs, which make up 98 percent of the enterprises operating in the
sector.
Irsheid, the economist, said that Jordan’s
industrial export growth was expected. He explaining that phosphate and potash reached
record levels of production and exports, in addition to clothing and textile
manufactured and exported from Al-Dleil Industrial Zone to the US under a free
trade agreement between the two countries.
He explained that there is a high demand for industrial
fertilizers from countries like Brazil, the US, India, and China. He attributed
the rise in demand to geopolitical factors, including the war between Russia
and Ukraine, and the subsequent slow supply chains.
Economist Zawaneh said that global inflation,
coupled with Western sanctions on Russia, as well as its war in Ukraine halted
the export of Russian and Ukrainian fertilizers to world markets, raising the
prices of the product globally.
“The opportunity is strong for Jordanian fertilizer
and mining exports,” he noted.
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