Chambers of industry praise Cabinet’s JFDA decision

AMMAN — The President of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry Fathi Jaghbeer, on Monday, praised the Cabinet's decision to amend the drug, medical supplies, sterilisers, disinfectants and cosmetics examination system for 2023 by separating the processes of drug registration and analysis at the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA).

This decision was made in response to the demands of the industrial chambers, which were presented during a meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah, during which industrial chambers emphasised the need to expedite local drug registration procedures to increase production and enhance the sector's exports, Jaghbeer said. 

The Economic Modernisation Vision (EMV) identified the pharmaceutical industry as one of the promising sectors for the next decade. His Majesty launched the EMV in 2022 to serve as a governmental roadmap to unleash the sector's potential and capabilities. There are 11 EMV initiatives focusing on the pharmaceutical sector. The initiative also aims to attract JD1.1 billion in additional investments to the industry. 

Fadi Al Atrash, the representative of the pharmaceutical and medical supplies sectors at the Jordan Chamber of Industry, explained that separating the drug analysis and registration processes could shorten the registration process by about three months, positively impacting exports and sector growth. 

Jordanian pharmaceutical products are exported to over 70 markets worldwide, Atrash said. The sector includes 149 facilities, 82 of which are industrial and 67 are craft-based, employing approximately 10,000 workers, the majority of whom are Jordanian. Facilities operating in the sector have a registered capital of around JD360 million, JD338 million of which was distributed for industrial facilities and JD22 million for craft-based facilities.

The sector's exports in 2022 accounted for 5.7 per cent of total industrial exports, ranking sixth in export volume. The sector's exports reached a value of approximately JD692 million, compared to JD654.8 million in 2021. The most promising Arab markets for the sector's exports are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria and the UAE, in addition to the US, Ukraine and South Africa.

The sector's production volume reached about JD21.6 billion in 2022, approximately 9.2 per cent of total industrial production. 

The value added by the sector reached approximately JD8.5 million, representing more than 51 per cent of the total sector production. The sector is considered one of the top industrial sectors, contributing around 2.6 per cent to the country's GDP.