Trade Report Shows Decline in National Exports

Amman: Jordan's total exports for the first half of this year stood at JD4.444 billion, marking a slight decline of 1.0 percent compared to JD4.490 billion during the same period last year, according to the latest report from the Department of Statistics. National exports, a key component of the total, saw a more significant decrease of 3.7 percent, dropping to JD4.018 billion from JD4.174 billion in the first half of last year. On the import side, the Kingdom experienced a modest reduction of 0.6 percent in its imports, which totaled JD8.883 billion, down from JD8.934 billion during the same period in 2023. Conversely, the value of re-exports surged by 34.8 percent, reaching JD426 million, up from JD316 million in the previous year. As a result, Jordan's trade balance deficit a measure of the gap between imports and total exports narrowed slightly by 0.1 percent, totaling JD4.439 billion compared to JD4.444 billion last year. The ratio of total exports covering imports remained steady at 50 percent, unch anged from the same period in 2023. For June 2024, total exports amounted to JD815 million, including JD741 million in national exports and JD74 million in re-exports. Imports for the month reached JD1.391 billion, leading to a trade balance deficit of JD576 million. In comparison to June 2023, total exports decreased by 1.8 percent, with national exports falling by 5.2 percent. However, re-exports saw a significant rise of 54.2 percent, and imports increased by 5.7 percent. The trade balance deficit also grew by 18.5 percent. The export coverage ratio for imports dropped to 59 percent, down 4 percentage points from 63 percent last year. Source: Jordan News Agency