Jordan's Chamber of Industry President, Engineer Fathi Al-Jaghebir, affirmed that the industrial sector achieved several positive results in the past year, continuing to lead local economic growth with a contribution exceeding 28.3% of the total GDP in the first half of 2023.

Al-Jaghebir told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that this growth is attributed to the qualitative nature of the industrial sector and its support for the performance of various other economic sectors. He explained that every dinar spent within it contributes directly and indirectly by a factor of 2.16 dinars to the national economy.

He added that the industrial sector is the largest employer, contributing significantly to job creation and unemployment reduction, employing more than a quarter of the workforce in the private sector, with a total of 268,000 workers.
The industrial sector owns numerous diverse production facilities spread across the kingdom, numbering up to 18,000 establishments, including 16,200 craft establishments and 1,800 industrial establishments. The annual growth rate in the number of establishments has been 0.3% since the past decade.

Engineer Al-Jaghebir highlighted that the industrial sector continued to achieve unprecedented levels of investment during the past year in 2023. It captured the highest value of total investments benefiting from the Investment Environment Law during the last nine months of 2023, reaching 64% of the total investments for various economic sectors, totaling 565 million dinars.

He pointed out that this reflects the level of investor confidence in the investment environment in the kingdom, especially in the industrial sector. It emphasizes its possession of investment capabilities and attractive incentives for investors. Moreover, it showcases positive indicators for industrial investments and leadership, aligning with the industry's contribution to around one-third of economic growth in 2022, indicating the industry's strategic role in leading growth and development in the country.

He confirmed that the industrial sector possesses various potentials and attributes, making it an important player in terms of investment across various Arab countries. This is due to its extensive and diverse production base within numerous industries, providing wide-ranging opportunities for growth and expansion. However, this is contingent on increasing promotion programs and providing incentives to attract more local and foreign investments.

Engineer Fathi Al-Jaghebir had announced in the middle of last year, 2023, about new investments in the industry that were either established or in the final stages of establishment, with a total value of $850 million. These investments were expected to provide 3,650 new job opportunities, while their exports were anticipated to reach approximately $1.2 billion.

The industrial sector boasts a significant diversity of goods, with the production of around 1,500 items within various subsectors such as wood, furniture, plastics, rubber, engineering, electrical, information technology, chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, leather, textiles, food, catering, packaging, construction, and mining.

Additionally, the industrial sector possesses substantial production capacities and high added value. The total annual production in the sector amounts to $25 billion, with a 46% contribution of added value to the total production. Furthermore, its market share in the local market is 45%.

It is worth noting that the economic modernization vision prioritizes the industrial sector by doubling the total local production, aiming to provide 260,000 job opportunities by 2033. The focus is on strategic and promising industrial sectors to achieve a competitive advantage and increase export contribution to the overall growth by 35% to 65%.

Al-Jaghebir stated, "Despite the positive results achieved by the industry last year, the sector faced several challenges, including a decline in exports, a decrease in the industrial production index, and some global crises. Foreign product competition has also increased due to rising production costs."

According to Al-Jaghebir, industrial exports recorded a decline in the first ten months of last year, 2023, by 3.5%, dropping to 6.489 billion dinars compared to 6.724 billion dinars for the same period in 2022.

He attributed this decline to reduced industrial exports to several foreign markets, prominently including Indonesia with a value of 93 million dinars, Bangladesh with over 88 million dinars, and India and Brazil with 82 million and 69 million dinars respectively.

The decline is also attributed to the return of global prices for fertilizers, potash, and phosphates to their normal levels after the significant increases in 2022. Additionally, the continued decrease in demand in the American market, especially for clothing products, contributed to the decline.

Al-Jaghebir emphasized that sustaining the growth of industrial exports requires measures to enhance it, starting with a review of production costs by quickly delivering natural gas to factories to increase the competitive capacity of locally manufactured products in both local and export markets. He also called for a review of trade agreements to ensure fair implementation and industry justice, along with ensuring the application of the principle of reciprocity with countries imposing restrictions on national products.

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