Canadian market presents 'promising opportunities' for national exports — JEA

AMMAN — The Jordan Exporters Association (JEA) is keen to increase exports of national products to Canada by enhancing the benefits of the free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the two countries, JEA President Ahmad Khudari said on Saturday. 

Khudari said that the Jordan-Canada FTA, which entered into force in 2012, provides "promising" opportunities for the national industry to enter the Canadian market and meet its needs for "high-quality" goods, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Khudari's remarks came during the closing ceremony of a JEA training workshop, held in cooperation with the Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFOC) for industrial companies and businesswomen in the food and cosmetics sectors.

He noted that JEA seeks to help Jordanian companies and businesswomen increase their industrial exports to Canada.

Khudari stressed the JEA's keenness to develop businesswomen’s’ capabilities and engage them in international trade. He pointed to the JEA’s efforts to find export opportunities in a number of global markets by taking part in the JEA's external exhibitions and organising specialised training workshops to benefit from Jordan's free trade agreements.

He also praised the TFOC's role in implementing programmes in cooperation with the JEA to help Jordanian companies and businesswomen enter new markets, especially Canada.

In 2018, the JEA dispatched a delegation to take part in an international exhibition in Canada, which saw the participation of a number of Jordanian businesswomen. 

The exhibition helped the women promote their products, highlighting their potential to compete within the Canadian market, he noted.

The JEA president said that this step demonstrated the opportunities for Jordanian businesswomen, especially for business owners outside Amman. 

He noted that the biggest challenge for Jordanian businesswomen is the lack of technical and financial support to help them access foreign markets.

In 2009, Jordan and Canada signed four bilateral cooperation agreements, with the aim to establish "distinguished" economic relations in various fields, including an FTA and three pacts on investment, labour and the environment.

National exports to Canada increased during the past nine months of 2021 by 19 per cent to reach JD38 million, compared to JD32 million for the same period 2020.

JEA Director General Halim Abu Rahmeh said that organising the five-day workshop is part of a five-year cooperation agreement signed between the JEA and the TFOC in 2020, which aims to implement several activities to boost national exports to Canada.