Wood, furniture industry sector meets 57% of local need-JCI

Amman: Representative of Wood and Furniture Industry Sector in Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), Taher Khaled, said the sector's products cover 57% of the local market's needs, referring to "ambitions" to increase this rate and exploit existing opportunities. In remarks to "Petra," Khaled said the sector has achieved a "qualitative" leap in terms of production volume, which has reached more than JD355 million, 40% of which is added value, stressing the need to pay further attention to this industry, especially in terms of training local workers. Khaled added that the Kingdom's furniture industry is a "main" industrial sector that will contribute to reduce unemployment rates, which aligns with the goals and targets of the Economic Modernization Vision (EMV). Khaled stated added that the sector's activity locally is "largely" linked to growth of the construction and urban activities, while its products are used in equipment for restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals and many other economic areas. Khaled po inted out that the sector has multiple opportunities at the level of foreign markets, as the value of untapped export potential was estimated at about $31 million to various countries across the world. In this regard, North American countries came as the destinations that have the "clearest" untapped export potential for the sector's products, worth $13 million, including the United States as the largest market with a value of $12 million. Source: Jordan News Agency