Total value of certificates of origin issued by Irbid Chamber of Industry (ICI) last August amounted to $126 million, compared to $172 million for the same period last year. In statement on Sunday, ICI head, Hani Abu Hassan, said the drop in the governorate’s exports by 27% is primarily driven by repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war that affected the textile sector, which is the “key” exporting sector and the resulting decline in demand. Abu Hassan noted exports of Al-Hassan Industrial Estate (HIE) amounted to $119.6 million out of the governorate’s total exports volume during last August, then came Cyber City at $5.5 million, while the rest of exports were distributed to different regions in the northern governorate. He noted exports of the knitting and leather industry, despite its relative decline, ranked the top sector in value, amounting to $115.4 million, followed by medical industries and supplies sector with exports at $4 million, then food supplies sector at $2.6 million. The remaining exports were mainly industrial, engineering, electrical, chemical, cosmetics, packaging, paper, plastic, rubber and construction materials, he said. Abu Hassan noted that Irbid’s exports to Arab countries accounted for 8% of the governorate’s total exports, while 75% of its exports went to the U.S. market. Abu Hassan added that markets of the European Union, Canada, Southeast Asian countries and other countries received the governorate’s remaining exports in varying rates.
Source: Jordan News Agency