The Kingdom’s furniture industry has made “large” achievements in terms of its quality, which reached markets of 70 countries globally, Representative of Wood and Furniture Industry Sector in Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), Taher Khaled, said. In a statement on Saturday, Khaled referred to the “remarkable” role played by the sector’s companies in stimulating the national economy and providing job opportunities for Jordanians, referring to their capability to increase national exports and attract new investments. Khaled said the Kingdom’s furniture industry is a “key” industrial sector that would contribute to reducing unemployment rates, in line with goals of Economic Modernization Vision (EMV), as it relies on “skilled” workers who have “high” accuracy and creativity. Khaled added that the furniture industry supports wide sub-sectors, including carpentry, upholstery, interior design and decoration, indicating that the sector’s activity locally is largely linked to growth of the construction and urban activity sectors, while its products are used in equipment of restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals and many other economic activities. Jordan’s furniture industry, he noted, expanded to include a series of establishments with a “large” level of production, which meet a wide part of needs of the local and foreign markets and various products, due to the sector’s interdependence with other industries, which made it a “fertile” environment for investment and entrepreneurship. Khaled said the sector is a worker-intensive industry, employing more than 10,000 people, the majority are Jordanians, at a rate of more than 90% of its total workforce, employed at approximately 2,140 establishments nationwide. He explained that the volume of investment within the sector amounted to about JD300 million, which is viewed substantially to have “high” productivity and added value, with “professional and creative” technical workforce. The sector’s production reaches about JD321 million and its added value constitutes approximately 40% of the total production, he pointed out. During 2022, he indicated that the sector’s exports amounted to nearly JD34 million, adding that more than 60 products are manufactured by the sector.
Source: Jordan News Agency