Industry ‘loses JD200m’ as Iraqi border remains sealed

AMMAN — The Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI) estimated on Sunday initial losses to the industrial sector because of Iraq's border closure more than a month ago at more than JD200 million.

A statement by the chamber said that 20 factories have closed as a result, citing a study it has conducted. 

The partial closure of production lines for hundreds of factories amounted to 70 per cent of their total production capacity while raw materials, which were meant to be manufactured and exported to Iraq, accumulated at industrial companies' warehouses. 

The ACI recently formed a committee of industrialists to study the repercussions of the Iraqi border closure on Jordanian exports. 

Industrial companies had to lay off hundreds of Jordanian workers, who have been trained for years to serve the sector, as a result, the chamber said, urging the government to shoulder its responsibility towards the sector and take necessary measures to reopen the border.

The ACI also demanded the activation of trade agreements signed with Iraq, exempting Jordanian goods exported to the Iraqi market through new alternate routes from all fees.