Gov’t decision to buy supplies from local producers a boon for sector — industrialist

AMMAN — The Cabinet’s decision to buy supplies for ministries and public departments from local manufacturers will encourage quality production and enhance the competitiveness of local products, a sector leader said Monday.

The move is an incentive for local manufacturers to raise the quality bar to reach international standards, Amman Chamber of Industry President Ziad Homsi told The Jordan Times.

He added that the government’s condition of receiving offers from at least three local companies will push local producers to offer “high-quality products at  competitive prices”, citing “very intense” competition with non-Jordanian products.

Homsi cited the example of the Health Ministry’s medication tenders in 2014, when non-Jordanian pharmaceutical companies won a “much larger” number of bids than local ones despite the quality of local medicines, because their prices were more competitive.   

Describing the decision as “timely” due to border closures with Syria and Iraq, he explained that even non-traditional markets for Jordanian products were affected, such as Libya and Yemen, in addition to Syria being a passage to European markets.

“We hope that the decision will apply to all public universities, government-owned companies and independent institutions, who may not consider themselves part of public administration,” Homsi said in a phone interview.

He expected the decision to have a “great impact” as the public sector accounts for 30 per cent of the total economy.

The purchases listed in the decision include stationery, food items, clothes, shoes, furniture and electric devices, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.