Garment shops see ‘unexpectedly high demand’ ahead of eid — sector leaders

AMMAN — Garment Traders Association President Munir Dayeh on Tuesday said that the sector has been highly active during the past three days, as citizens shop in preparation for Eid Al Fitr.

“Markets have been visibly crowded during the last three days of the holy month of Ramadan due to a high demand for eid shopping that include clothes, shoes and gifts,” Dayeh said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

He pointed to the decrease in clothing prices, larger variety of products and sales, which have contributed to attracting consumers.

Activity within the garments sector during Ramadan witnessed a 20 per cent decrease in comparison with previous years as a result of the diminished purchasing power and increase in citizens’ financial responsibilities, Dayeh highlighted.

He explained that garment dealers had anticipated greater levels of stagnation, but since market activity was better than expected, they were able to fulfil their financial commitments and compensate for the slowdown that the sector witnessed earlier this year.

The Kingdom’s garment imports since the beginning of 2019 have amounted to JD85 million, compared with JD105 million during the same period of last year, Dayeh said.

Jordan imports the majority of its garments from Turkey and China, in addition to a number of Arab, European and Asian countries, according to Petra.

Approximately 11,800 merchants work in this sector, which employs 53,000 Jordanians, the statement said.