Jordan Industrial Exports Climb 9.1% to Record JD2.8 Billion

Jordan’s industrial exports climbed 9.1 percent in the first four months of 2026 to JD2.808 billion, the highest January to April total in recent years, the Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) reported on June 29 via the Jordan News Agency, Petra. The figure is up from JD2.574 billion over the same months of 2025, and JCI data showed gains across every industrial sub-sector. Total national exports over the period reached JD2.956 billion, of which industrial goods accounted for about 95 percent.

The chamber pinned the gains on export-support policies, market-opening work and fuller use of free trade agreements. Industrial shipments also covered 43 percent of the Kingdom’s total imports, a ratio JCI described as strategically important for the trade balance. The chamber tied the result to Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision, the national reform program designed to lift growth, add jobs and shore up foreign currency reserves over the coming decade.

Mining and Construction Lead the Sub-Sector Gains

Mining industries recorded the largest gain by value, with exports rising by JD82 million from the same period a year earlier. Construction industries followed at JD58 million and chemicals and cosmetics at JD37 million. Leather and garment industries added JD21 million and pharmaceuticals and medical supplies JD15 million, the JCI figures show.

Food, agriculture and livestock added about JD8 million, engineering, electrical and information technology about JD5 million, and plastics and rubber about JD4 million. Packaging, paper, cardboard and office supplies rose about JD3 million, and wood and furniture added JD1 million, the smallest sub-sector gain in the release. JCI framed the pattern as broad-based expansion that reached every sub-sector, the same wording in both the Petra release and its broader 2025 industrial sector performance data.

The chamber also credited its own technical and informational support for industrialists and consistent use of free trade agreements. The breakdown matches JCI’s earlier 2025 readout, when industrial exports grew 10.2 percent to JD8.893 billion for the full year and the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product rose 5.2 percent in the third quarter. Through April 2026 the picture is thinner but tighter, with every sub-sector in the green.

Switzerland and China Head the Destination List

By destination, Switzerland recorded the largest increase in the value of Jordanian industrial exports at JD89 million, followed by China at JD62 million and Thailand at JD30 million. Exports to Syria grew by about JD28 million, shipments to the Netherlands added JD24 million and those to Belgium rose by JD12 million. The release named only increases; it did not list any country whose imports from Jordan fell over the period.

The April jump to Switzerland comes on top of a sharp Europe-bound export rise in the first two months of 2026, when Jordan’s exports to the European Union grew 72.3 percent to JOD112 million and the Netherlands was the standout market. The Aqaba-based route keeps Jordanian manufacturers within days of European distribution hubs. Switzerland’s pharma and chemicals buyers are the kind of customers who buy on documentation, certification and consistency as much as on price. Several of the destinations highlighted in the latest data also benefit from existing free trade agreements, including arrangements with the United States and the European Union, the chamber’s release noted.

Garments Lead, with Sharp Surges in Smaller Lines

Garments and clothing accessories remained Jordan’s largest industrial export line at JD517 million over the four months. Crude potash ranked second at JD220 million and pharmaceutical preparations third at JD184 million. The three together account for more than a third of the country’s industrial shipments by value but a smaller share by volume. Potash moves in bulk; garments and pharmaceuticals move in finished packaging.

A handful of smaller categories posted the kind of growth rates usually tied to base effects rather than to structural shifts. Lubricating oils surged 4,085 percent year on year, organic chemical products climbed 938 percent, copper and its articles rose 89 percent, and cement rose 84 percent. The chamber did not break out volumes or absolute values for those lines in the Petra release, but the percentage moves are large enough to register on the trade balance on their own.

Jordan’s crude potash, at JD220 million for the four months, is a long-standing pillar of the country’s bulk-cargo trade. The fast-growth categories are heavy-industry inputs and chemical intermediates, the kind of cargo that moves in bulk through Aqaba’s container terminal. Pharmaceutical preparations are a different kind of story, with U.S. market access secured under a long-standing free trade agreement and Jordanian firms selling to a broad international customer base for medicines. Each category runs at a different price point and a different shipping cadence.

• JD2.808 billion: industrial exports in the first four months of 2026.
• JD82 million: largest sub-sector increase, mining industries.
• JD89 million: largest destination increase, Switzerland.
• 4,085 percent: growth in lubricating oils, the fastest in the release.
• 95 percent: industrial share of total national exports.

The product mix is also a window into where JCI sees the next round of value-add. Potash and garments are mature, low-margin lines that already ship at high volumes. Chemicals, copper and lubricating oils are higher up the input chain, with capacity to grow into finished and branded products.

Industrial Goods Now Carry the Trade Balance

Industrial exports accounted for about 95 percent of Jordan’s total national exports in the first four months of 2026, JCI said. Total national exports for the period stood at JD2.956 billion. Industrial shipments also covered 43 percent of imports, a trade-coverage level the chamber called strategically important for the national economy. The 43 percent ratio has held since JCI’s annual 2025 readout, where the same statistic first appeared in the chamber’s annual figures.

The chamber pointed to a series of policies meant to keep the pipeline full: opening new markets, deepening technical support to factories and helping firms use free trade agreements. The Economic Modernization Vision, an initiative introduced in 2022 and now in its second executive program, lists industrial diversification as a core objective. The latest data show the sector delivering against that target.

The numbers also frame the trade-balance debate. National exports cover less than half of total imports even when industrial goods are counted, and the country remains a net importer of food and energy. That is why JCI frames industrial exports as strategically central rather than simply healthy. The chamber’s message is that further work on value-added manufacturing and on new destination markets is needed to keep the trend through the rest of 2026 and into 2027, with the JCI’s January to April figures as the baseline.

What JCI Says Comes Next

The chamber’s June 29 statement called for three things: continued diversification of export markets, more value-added manufacturing and fuller use of free trade agreements. Diversification, the JCI said, remains critical because the export book is still concentrated in a handful of product lines and a smaller handful of buyers. Value-add, in the chamber’s framing, means moving more of the mix away from raw and intermediate goods into finished products sold under Jordanian brand. Free trade agreements are an asset the country has spent more than two decades building. JCI treats these deals as live market access.

Jordan’s network of free trade agreements includes arrangements with the United States and the European Union, the two largest in dollar terms, plus several regional and Asian deals the chamber says exporters underuse. The Economic Modernization Vision remains the unifying framework, with JCI saying industrial exports must continue to support growth, employment and foreign currency reserves. The chamber offered no specific forecast for the full-year 2026 export total. Its next data points, expected later this year, will cover the first half and offer a first read on whether the broad-based pattern of the first four months is holding.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Jordan’s industrial exports total in the first four months of 2026?

JCI put industrial exports at JD2.808 billion for January through April 2026, the highest for that period in recent years, up from JD2.574 billion a year earlier. The figure covers every industrial sub-sector.

Which sub-sector recorded the largest industrial export increase?

Mining industries led by value at JD82 million, followed by construction industries at JD58 million and chemicals and cosmetics at JD37 million.

Which country bought more Jordanian industrial goods than any other?

Switzerland recorded the largest increase in the value of Jordanian industrial exports at JD89 million, with China at JD62 million and Thailand at JD30 million. Exports to Syria added about JD28 million and to the Netherlands JD24 million.

What are Jordan’s top three industrial exports by value?

Garments and clothing accessories led at JD517 million, followed by crude potash at JD220 million and pharmaceutical preparations at JD184 million.

How much of Jordan’s imports do industrial exports cover?

Industrial exports covered 43 percent of the Kingdom’s total imports in the first four months of 2026, with industrial shipments accounting for about 95 percent of total national exports, which reached JD2.956 billion.