Trade exchange bet. Egypt, Jordan rises to $6.63M in 2020 despite repercussions of coronavirus

CAIRO – 27 April 2021: Trade Exchange between Egypt and Jordan grew during 2020 to $6163.3 million, compared to $567.5 million during 2019, despite the repercussions of coronavirus, according to Head of the Representation Office for Commercial in Amman, Mona Abboud.

This came during a seminar organized by the Furniture Export Council in cooperation with the Commercial Representation Authority on Tuesday, under the title "Opportunities for Egyptian furniture exports to exist in Jordan.

Abboud explained that Egypt's exports to Jordan rose by 12.2 percent during 2020, reaching $ 495.4 million, compared to $ 441.5 million in 2019.

She added that Egyptian imports from Jordan witnessed a decline during 2020 by 4.5 percent, to reach $ 120.9 million, compared to $ 126 million in 2019.

Abboud stated that work is currently underway to arrange virtual meetings between Jordanian importers and Egyptian exporters in order to overcome the problem of stopping exhibitions in Jordan due to the repercussions of Corona.

She mentioned that the Jordanian economy is a limited economy, based on the services sector, trade, tourism, fertilizers, medicines, and phosphate mines, with a population of about 10.819 million people, and it also faces some obstacles in the rise in energy prices and scarcity of water, reduced agricultural land, and price instability.

Head of the Representation Office for Commercial in Amman noted that the Jordanian gross product amounted to about $ 43.7 billion, the per capita share of $ 4,055, and the unemployment rate reached 23 percent, noting that the furniture sector is one of the most important industrial sectors in Jordan, as it is related to urban activity, schools and hospitals.

Abboud added that the size of the furniture market in Jordan has reached 11,000 establishments, although the last period has seen many establishments exit the market due to the Coronavirus, and 5,000 workers are employed.

She indicated that the most prominent furniture exporters to Jordan are China and Italy, due to the ease of organizing virtual visits and meetings and the variety of models, as more than one model can be in one container in addition to the quality of raw materials and ease of payment.

She pointed out that the Jordanian consumer’s appetite for classic and modern furniture depends on its model, the quality of its design and its shape, and the youth group accepts more for modern furniture because the size of the piece is simple in design and easy to disassemble and install.

She pointed out that, in light of the current circumstances, the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, which led to a decline in marriage rates and the consumer resort to buying basic requirements and postponing any other items, which affected the consumer's purchasing power.