Unrest in Iraq costs Jordan $113m a month

The unrest in Iraq costs Jordanian industries approximately 80 million Jordanian dinars a month, the Chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Association Fathi Jaghbir said yesterday.

Jaghbir said national exports to Iraq have “almost stopped” for the time being due to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, pointing to the existence of “risky” individual attempts to export Jordanian goods to Iraq.

He added: “The unstable situation in Iraq has damaged a large industry in Jordan. Iraq is one of the largest importers of goods manufactured Jordan. It is worth nearly a billion dollars a year.”

“Stopping Jordanian exports to Iraq harms Iraqi investors also; those who built factories in Jordan to produce goods for the Iraqi markets,” Jaghbir explained.

He also added: “Large orders which had already been prepared for the Iraqi markets exist in the stores of the Jordanian factories and companies. This harms the Jordanian industry, too.”

Jordan has a strong commercial relationship with Iraq based on the historical and geographical relationship between both countries. “The Iraqi market is the best for Jordanian industries,” Jaghbir, who called for support for the Jordanian industries and increasing their share of the local market, said.

Jordanian exports to Iraq increased 18 per cent in the first quarter of this year, increasing to $224 million compared with $190 million during the period last year.