Jordan’s pharmaceutical exports reach JD1b — JAPM

AMMAN — The Kingdom's pharmaceutical exports over 2020-2021 stood at JD1 billion, making it the only national sector to export more than it imports, said the Jordanian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (JAPM) on Wednesday.

In a presentation during a visit to the association by Director General of the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) Nizar Mheidat, the JAPM said that among its top achievements are the development of generic medicines and the registration of 231 new Jordanian medicines. 

The association added that its companies have also started exporting to non-traditional markets, such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and some African countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During a meeting with JAPM President Maher Kurdi, Mheidat said that the JFDA is concerned with the excellence of Jordanian pharmaceutical industries and increasing their competitiveness at the local, regional and international levels. 

Kurdi praised the JFDA's approach in supporting and communicating with national pharmaceutical companies and paying field visits to better understand their needs to help the Kingdom become a regional hub for medicines and medical supplies and sanitisers. 

JAPM Secretary General Hanan Sboul said that the investment volume of Jordanian pharmaceutical industries stands at some $1 billion in the local market through 23 companies in the Kingdom and $750 million through 17 of these companies’ branches in eight countries.

Sboul added that the sector also employs around 11,000 employees directly and 30,000 others indirectly, 99 per cent of whom are Jordanians, with females constituting 37 per cent and university degree holders making up 67 per cent.

She noted that the sector's exports reached 65 countries with an export volume in 2020 that totalled JD458.8 million, according to JFDA statistics, making it the second biggest exporting sector.

Sboul pointed out that pharmaceutical factories export 75 per cent of their products and the sector's exports account for 9 per cent of national exports.