Jordan’s oil bill drops considerably

AMMAN –– Jordan’s oil imports went down considerably in 2013 compared with the year before, official data showed Sunday. 

According to the Department of Statistics (DoS) report on the Kingdom’s foreign trade, Jordan imported oil worth JD3.91 billion last year, down by JD545 million or 12 per cent from the JD4.45 billion in 2012. 

The drop in the oil bill was reflected on Jordan’s imports from Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s major oil supplier, as the data showed that imports from the Gulf country went down by nearly JD616 million in 2013 to JD2.85 billion from JD3.46 billion in 2012. 

However, the DoS report indicated that Jordanian exports to Saudi Arabia in 2013 increased by around JD127 million to over JD651 million compared to JD523 million the year before. 

Iraq remained the biggest Arab market for national exports, which also went up to JD883 million last year from JD716 million in 2012. 

Imports from Iraq also increased reaching JD269 million last year compared to JD230 million in 2012. 

Exports to crisis-hit Syria dropped by nearly one third, according to the statistics, which showed that Jordanian products exported to Syrian market stood at around JD95 million last year, while in 2012 they reached over JD140 million. 

Imports from Syria increased to JD184 million from JD171 million. 

According to the DoS report, national exports rose to 4.8 billion in 2013, 1.2 per cent higher than the JD4.7 billion recorded the year before. 

Imports rose by 5.4 per cent to JD15.5 billion last year compared with JD14.7 billion in 2012.

Subsequently, the trade deficit widened by 8.5 per cent last year to JD9.9 billion at current prices compared with JD9.1 billion in deficit recorded in 2012.

The DoS noted that the coverage ratio of total exports to imports has declined by 1.8 percentage points to 36.2 per cent from 38.1 per cent.

Topping the list of imports were petroleum products, cars/bikes and their spare parts, steel, grains, equipment and tools, and electrical appliances. 

Major exports were garment, potash, vegetables and fruits, pharmaceuticals and fertilisers.