AMMAN —
Amman Chamber of Commerce Chairman Khalil Al-Haj
Tawfiq said that 85 percent of Jordan’s food needs are imported, according to a
local media outlet.
اضافة اعلان
According to Haj
Tawfiq, Jordan imports around $4 billion worth of foodstuff annually, of which
part is industrial raw materials and part for consumption. The food sector
includes around 14 importing, retailing, and wholesale companies. Of these,
half are in Amman and provide jobs for around 200,000 people.
He added that 45
percent of people with low and limited income spend their salaries on food,
thus they will be affected by the increase in prices. He stressed that all
international indicators are implying that goods and food prices will continue
to increase, which requires precautions and supporting the Kingdom’s strategic
stock.
According to Haj
Tawfiq, demand on goods and food this Ramadan was better than in previous
periods, which were overshadowed by the
COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the
local market did not suffer from shortages of commodities and that the
supplying and importing processes continued.
He added that
following two years of lockdown, normal daily activity has returned, which
increased the sector’s sales due to the early opening of restaurants and giving
employees in the private and public sectors their salaries, in addition to the
return of social and family activities and the increased demand on charity
parcels.
Haj Tawfiq further
stressed that imports prices were not affected by the increase in sales and
demand on commodities, except for some local goods, including vegetables,
poultry, and fresh meat.
Haj Tawfiq pointed
out that the shortage of fresh poultry is not justified, in light of the
increase in their prices, stressing that some malls and shops complained about
lack of supply.
He also indicated
that the Amman Chamber of Commerce regularly communicates with the Ministry of
Industry, Trade, and Supply to facilitate the trade and service sector’s work,
which is the largest payer of taxes and fees and contributes mostly to the GDP.
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