Ammon News - Representative of the plastic industry at the Jordan Chamber of Industry Alaa Abu Khazneh on Saturday said that the sector enjoyed positive indicators amid the challenges posed by the spread of COVID-19, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Abu Khazneh noted that the industry has been one of the most hard-hit sectors by the coronavirus crisis, stressing that challenges ranged from ceasing the operations of machinery to increasing shipping costs to threefolds due to the closure of border crossings and the implementation of the back-to-back transport system.

He said that the sector has managed to rise above the obstacles by providing the needed wrapping and packing materials to basic sectors in addition to manufacturing gloves, face masks and face shields.

Exporting opportunities also started to “loom on the horizon”, Abu Khazneh said, adding that plastic manufacturing companies in Jordan received export orders and inquiries from a number of countries around the world.

Abu Khazneh noted that the government’s recent programmes implemented to support affected sectors reflect the partnership between the Kingdom’s public and private sectors.

Abu Khazneh’s estimated the size of the sector’s production at $1.5 billion, which amounts to about 5 per cent of Jordan’s total industrial production.

In a Saturday press briefing, he also added that the sector employs more than 13,000 workers, mostly Jordanian, in 614 industrial facilities, with a capital of JD200 million.

Industrial exports, which are delivered to 70 Arab and global markets, have witnessed “noticeable progress” throughout the last decade, achieving an annual growth rate of 16 per cent and reaching JD230 million in 2019, which amounted to 4 per cent of Jordan’s industrial exports.