Foreign Trade: Exports Hold Up Against the Storm

Jordan’s foreign trade figures for the first seven months of 2026 reveal a remarkable ability of national exports to stay on a growth path, despite a highly complex regional environment, disrupted shipping and transport, and higher insurance and supply-chain costs. Total exports rose 10.3% to JD 6.395 billion, national exports grew 4.6% to JD 5.509 billion, and re-exports rose 67.2% to JD 886 million.

Imports, by contrast, rose only 2.4%. This cut the trade deficit by 6%, or JD 331 million, and improved export coverage of imports to 55%.

The most important thing in these figures is explaining why exports were able to keep going. Jordanian exports did not depend on a single market: they rose 33.8% to Syria, 20.4% to Iraq, 74.8% to China, and 20.3% to the European Union. Having multiple sales destinations spreads risk and allows weak demand in one market to be offset by growth in others, which helps explain the resilience in the face of regional turmoil.

Exports of garments rose 4.1%, fertilizers 12%, and potash 11.7%, which supported the growth of national exports despite declines in phosphate (12.6%) and jewelry (14.2%). Part of this resilience can be understood from the link between fertilizers and potash and the needs of agricultural production, needs that continue despite disruptions and provide a base of demand supporting foreign sales.

Re-export activity explains an important part of the rise in total exports, contributing about 60% of the increase, according to a rough calculation from the official figures. This calls for distinguishing between growth in trade in re-exported goods and growth in exports of national production. Moreover, a rise in value alone does not prove an increase in quantities exported, since values are also affected by prices.

But this positive picture does not mean the absence of challenges. Higher energy, transport, and insurance costs, disrupted regional shipping lines, and the repercussions of security conditions on trade movement are all factors that can pressure the competitiveness of Jordanian products. Continued reliance on a relatively limited number of export goods also makes growth more sensitive to swings in global prices and external demand.

Even so, the current period opens real opportunities for the Jordanian economy. The return of trade activity with Syria and Iraq could reshape Jordan’s position as a hub for trade and logistics services toward the Levant, while growth in the Chinese and European markets offers room to broaden the export base. Food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and fertilizer industries remain areas that can expand if local production is linked to foreign markets.

These results point to the importance of the private sector’s ability to adapt and diversify markets, while Jordan’s trade agreements facilitate access to buyers and ease barriers for national products. But turning this resilience into sustainable growth requires lowering production and transport costs, developing logistics services, speeding up export procedures, and opening new markets.

The goal is for export growth to become more diverse, less costly, and more sustainable, so that regional shocks turn from a factor threatening trade into an incentive to rebuild the map of Jordanian exports.