Jordan’s exports to Palestine expected to double in 2022 — JCI

AMMAN — The number of Jordanian goods exported to the Palestinian market stands at approximately 275 goods annually, according to Chairman of the Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) Fathi Jaghbir.

Jaghbir noted that the number of exports is expected to more than double over the next year.

“We are witnessing a qualitative leap in the level of Jordanian exports to Palestine, in light of the agreement signed between Jordan and Israel to expand the benefits of the Paris Protocol,” Jaghbir told The Jordan Times on Monday.

The Paris Protocol, signed by the Palestinian National Authority and Israel in 1994, sets a quota for a list of Jordanian goods that can be exported to the Palestinian market, in accordance with Palestinian customs procedures and standards.

A total of 814 Jordanian goods will be able to enter the Palestinian market with customs exemptions, subject to commercial procedures and the Palestinian technical specifications, Jaghbir said.

The most prominent Jordanian goods exported to the Palestinian market are mainly cement, aluminium products, paint, and foodstuff, in addition to paper and plastic products for packaging fruits and vegetables, Jaghbir said.

The JCI chief highlighted that the Jordanian exports to the Palestinian market during the first nine months of 2021 amounted to approximately JD91.9 million, recording a growth of 25.1 per cent, compared with the same period last year, which totalled JD73.4 million.

National exports to the Palestinian market decreased by 6.3 per cent by the end of 2020 compared with 2019, when it reached about JD107.8 million, he said.

Jordanian exports are expected to grow more than 30 per cent by the end of 2021 to reach about JD140 million, according to Jaghbir.

“The main challenge facing Jordan in enabling economic relations with Palestine is on the part of the occupation authorities through their implementation of the Paris Protocol and the imposition of quotas on Jordanian exports to the Palestinian market,” Jaghbir said.

“We hope that the recent agreement to facilitate the entry of Jordanian goods into Palestine will be a positive step and in the right direction towards addressing this major challenge,” he continued.

Another challenge is the mutual recognition of conformity certificates and quality marks between the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation and the Palestinian Standards Institution, which was recently agreed upon with the Palestinian side to address this dilemma, Jaghbir added.

In addition, some logistical and administrative challenges such as transportation and shipping issues, import licences, among others are expected to be resolved during the Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee to be held in the upcoming days, he said.

Jaghbir added that the new agreement between Jordan and Israel is “a real opportunity to move trade relations between Jordan and Palestine to new dimensions”, especially in light of the agreement for Jordanian products to have customs exemptions worth about $730 million, nearly five times what Jordanian exports to Palestine currently.

“The pandemic and what it has caused on supply chains, and the unprecedented rise in freight prices, constitute an additional opportunity to enhance cooperation with neighbouring countries, especially Palestine, in light of geographical proximity, and thus reduce the challenges of transport and shipping and the inflation of their prices,” Jaghbir said.