Jordan-Qatar trade reaches $60 million in 1Q of 2024

Doha: he trade balance between Jordan and Qatar in the first quarter of the current year reached about 220 million Qatari riyals ($60.4 million). According to the Qatari Planning and Statistics Authority website, recent statistics released on Sunday indicated that Jordan-Qatar trade recorded a growth rate of 3.18 percent during the first three months of 2024, up from 213 million Qatari riyals ($58.5 million) during the corresponding period of 2023. Jordan exports to Qatar fresh and processed foodstuffs, vegetables, fruits, various types of meat, dates, cheeses, fresh dairy products, poultry and its derivatives, grains, sweets and various types of cakes, rice, juices, nuts, oils, and various types of ghee, pickles, herbs, honey, frozen poultry, eggs, and Jordanian coffee. Qatari exports to the Jordanian market include various chemicals such as car oils, sulfonic acid, lutein, aluminum molds, paraffin, polyethylene, iron bars, various types and uses of chemical fertilizers, plastic bags, car engine oils, org anic fertilizers, and medical solutions. According to official figures, the Qatari market consumes more than 1000 tons of vegetables and fruits daily, while the volume of local agricultural production is about 100,000 tons annually, with a self-sufficiency rate of about 40 percent. However, these consumption rates double during the blessed month of Ramadan. Many Qatari traders expect Qatar's imports of Jordanian products and goods to continue to rise in the coming period, confirming that the Qatari market is witnessing growing demand for purchasing fresh foodstuffs, especially vegetables and fruits, due to their high competitiveness and acceptable prices compared to all other imported varieties from foreign markets and some regional markets. The trade balance between the two countries has exceeded QR 11.5 billion ($3.17 billion) over the past ten years, according to official statistics released by the Qatari Planning and Statistics Authority. During the years from 2012 to 2017, Qatar's exports to Jordan a mounted to about QR 5.35 billion compared to QR 2.44 billion imports, with a trade surplus of QR 2.91 billion in favor of Qatar. During the years from 2018 until the end of 2021, the trade surplus shifted in favor of Jordan by one billion Qatari riyals, with Qatar's exports during those years reaching around 1.2 billion Qatari riyals compared to 2.2 billion imports. According to that data, the value of goods re-exported from Qatar to Jordan during the past ten years reached approximately QR 623 million ($171.1 million). Source: Jordan News Agency