Last quarter of 2019 offers ‘glimmer of hope’ for clothing, footwear sector — stakeholder

AMMAN — The clothing and footwear sector’s activity has declined by 20 per cent this year compared with last year, according to President of the Textile and Readymade Clothes Syndicate Muneer Deyeh.

Demanding measures to save the sector, Deyeh said in a statement that the Kingdom’s imports of clothing and footwear have declined by at least 12 per cent, down from JD260 million in 2018 to JD230 million in 2019.

He added that Jordan’s imports of clothing and footwear are at “the minimum level required to cover the local market, as importers and traders no longer store large quantities from fear of the continuing decline in sales”.

The sector, which employs 53,000 Jordanians, began to deteriorate three years ago, offset by an increase in operating costs, stated the syndicate president.

He added that this year, despite the stability of prices, the sector still “went through several fluctuating stages”, as the first quarter recorded a “significant decline”, while the second quarter witnessed an improvement and an increase in activity coinciding with Eid Al Fitr and some governmental financial measures, such as imposing customs taxes on online orders.

The third quarter of this year was the “most difficult for the sector”, witnessing a remarkable decrease in the sales volume, which was nearly 50 per cent lower than last year, due to the declining purchasing power of citizens.

However, Deyeh said, the last quarter of this year “gives the sector some hope”, as it witnessed an increase in commercial activity, supported by the “stimulus measures taken by the government and the recovery of commercial sectors, causing sales to grow to about 15 per cent more than last year during the same period”.

According to Deyeh, the clothing and footwear sector is still facing many challenges, particularly high taxes and customs fees, which total approximately 50 per cent and are “the highest in the region”.

He said that the syndicate has exerted “great efforts” to alleviate the difficulties facing the clothing and footwear sector, including exempting businesses from fines imposed on open customs data, organising electronic sales and contributing to determining customs on foreign goods.

The syndicate will continue to work in cooperation with the Amman Chamber of Commerce to find solutions to the challenges facing the sector, among which are reviewing the owners and tenants law, reducing customs fees and sales tax, establishing a special system for sales and work times and limiting the random issuance of licences and customs data, the statement concluded.