AMMAN -- Recent years have witnessed a major increase in Jordan's exports to new markets through capitalising on various trade agreements, which Jordan enjoys with many countries.

The US market has topped the list as being the major destination for many Jordanian exports through benefiting from the Jordan-US Free Trade Agreement, the Qualified Industrial Zones and the Generalised System of Preference.

The diversification and high standards of products and services offered by Jordanian entrepreneurs have contributed to an increase in demand worldwide and the commitment of the government through taking steps towards a market-oriented economy and placing increased emphasis on the private sector. They have also contributed towards creating a solid platform for doing business in Jordan.

Taking into consideration all the efforts exerted by both the public and private sectors in the country to further enhance and develop export markets, the following elements remain essential for a successful national export strategy:

Identification of the clusters that have a competitive advantage -- Jordan has identified the Dead Sea cosmetics, apparel and garments, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, the information technology, tourism, and health services as sectors that have a competitive edge.

Taking into consideration the big potential of penetrating major markets via Jordan through the various trade agreements, many existing industries need to expand to meet the high demand of markets, continuously develop products and services as well as work on attracting investments and know-how.

Coordination between the various export promotion institutions -- Many institutions in Jordan, being in the public or private sectors, are working towards creating a strong, viable, sustainable and internationally competitive export sector. To maximise the efforts and avoid duplication, the work of all institutions should be coordinated in order to increase the development and exploitation of available resources with a view of achieving efficiency, competitiveness, higher productivity and self-sustaining growth.

It is the intention of the government to promote export-oriented industries in order to widen the export base with the objective of establishing small- and medium-sized industries in various parts of the country through the establishment of industrial estates.

Such work can be realised through a strong well-defined public-private partnership such as the successful partnership between the private sector and the Jordan customs.

Export incentives -- To achieve a high level of competitiveness, the significance of incentives as a tool for export promotion has increased. Exporters' ability to penetrate new markets and to compete globally does not only depend on the quality and price of products, but also relies on many other issues to include terms of payment offered to buyers, delivery time, etc..

There are financial institutions in Jordan that offer export credit insurance that covers political and commercial risks. In addition, exports working capital guarantee scheme is being offered which assists Jordanian exporters in obtaining short-term loans from local commercial banks to finance their working capital needs with minimum collateral in order to produce exportable goods.

Jordanian exporters can benefit from the duty drawback scheme, which offers refunds of import duty paid on the importation of raw materials and intermediate goods required for the production of exportable products. There should be a regular review of incentives offered to coincide with WTO requirements.

Introduction of permissible subsidies is of utmost importance in order to contribute to a vibrant and competitive export sector. Export promotion, research and development, and training schemes should be developed and institutionalised for the development of new exportable products, and for enhancing the quality and increasing production of exportable products.

An export promotion programme to cover key market -- A well-structured, measurable export promotion programme that meets the needs of the Jordanian export sector and Jordan's economic development should be put in force.

Jordan has been successful in implementing an aggressive drive in various sectors to include the information technology, the garment industry and tourism. Further more; Jordan has prioritised export markets based on many factors to include the availability of trade agreements such as the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, availability of donor support for the promotion of exports, and identification of markets where Jordanian products have a comparative advantage...etc.

Available support for promoting Jordanian exports worldwide includes the opening of trade offices in key markets (USA, Algeria, Dubai, Portugal), organising trade missions, market research, participating in trade shows and publishing export directories.

There is lots of room for strengthening available support and introducing new programmes. More trade offices should be established in selected European and African markets, promote the establishment of export trading companies that specialise in purchasing domestic industrial products and exporting them worldwide.

There is a need to look into the establishment of permanent exhibitions in selected markets, increase the participation in specialised exhibitions, and concentrate on e-commerce.

Cooperation with countries within the region to enhance exports -- The various trade agreements that Jordan enjoys lends itself for the need of regional cooperation to meet the needed requirements for cumulative rules of origin especially in the Qualified Industrial Zones and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA. Regional cooperation is desirable to benefit from the low cost of transportation and labour and to share the knowledge and resources available.

Promoting investments in Jordan of highly exportable products -- Investment promotion has been a priority for Jordan. An aggressive investment promotion drive by both the public and private sectors has been adopted for the promotion of domestic and foreign investments.

The Jordan Investment Board (JIB) has been working on improving the investment climate through changing various laws and regulations; (Investment Promotion Law, Companies Law, customs exemptions on imported fixed assets, export industries are not subject to customs duties on imported raw materials, free repatriation of capital, profits and salaries); thus converting it to a more conducive investment environment capable of competing at the international level for the attraction of domestic and foreign direct investments.

This has been necessary to bridge the gap in investment requirements needed for the inflow of technology and know-how and the development of competitive capability.

JIB has been successfully targeting industries worldwide identified, as being major beneficiaries of what Jordan has to offer. Further more, the various bilateral and multilateral agreement Jordan enjoys with many countries has been a major tool for attracting investments.

For example, the FTA with the United States, which extends duty free status to goods manufactured in Jordan and exported to the US market, has been a major reason for attracting investments into Jordan.

The private sector has also been working on attracting investments into Jordan. Many privately-owned Qualified Industrial Zones, which allows goods manufactured in those zones free access to the US market, attracted investments from all over the world.

Government efforts are directed towards increasing public investments in human and infrastructure development in order to further improve the investment climate thus adding to its attractiveness by further strengthening Jordan's competitive and comparative advantages.

Acknowledgement of exporters -- Recognising exporters' achievements by the various public and private sector bodies is an important gesture to expand and develop the export base in Jordan.

At present there is one achievement award offered to industrialists who excel in their field, the King Abdullah Award for Excellence. There is no specific award for exporters although there are efforts by the private sector to launch the Best Exporter Award, which will recognise new and existing exporters and hopefully lead to the creation of nationalised benchmarks on good exporting practices and requirements.

Improve the standards of exportable products -- Realising the importance of competing in world markets, the quality of Jordanian exports should meet the highest standards. Jordanian exports have reached markets in Europe and the US and are known for their superior quality.

In certain sectors, the quality should be tested from time to time in order to improve the standards of exportable products thus all necessary information should be made available for that purpose. Work is being done on developing packaging technology to maintain high-quality standards of exportable products.

Availability of specialised market information for exporters -- Market data is an important source of information needed by exporters to assist them in their decisions to enter new markets. There are many public and private sector organisations that effectively provide such services to include desk and field research, special sector specific reports, Internet research and statistical data.

There are many private sector trade promotion organisations that represent a certain sector, such as the Association of Jordanian Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables, or a certain market, such as the Jordanian American Business Association.

The Department of Statistics, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Jordanian Institution for Standards and Specification are government bodies that provide information needed by exporters.

Human resource development -- Jordan realises that the development of its manpower to enhance the competitive edge and to support and create growth in a knowledge-based economy is vital for the development of the industrial and export sectors.

Institutions of the public and private sectors are offering training in Jordan based on the needs of the industrial and export sectors. Specialised seminars and workshops are being offered covering topics on trade-related opportunities resulting from the various trade agreements that Jordan is a signatory of.

Other areas include training relating to technology, marketing, and export procedures required for export promotion.

For example, the Jordan Exporters Association has adopted the ITC's Certified Trade Advisors Programme which creates a national capacity to provide training and advisory services to improve the international competitiveness of Jordanian SMEs in the areas of exporting, management, and the application of information and communications technology to trade.

Jordan's public and private sectors are working closely to further develop the quality of training programmes and activities offered to the industrial and export sectors. Training in Jordan is conducted mostly by local experts and at times by foreign consultants.

All the aforementioned elements, without the serious commitment of the private sector and then the government, will make any effort to enhance Jordan's export capabilities useless.

The government must formalise a national export strategy thus paving the way for the private sector to seriously commit to exporting. The private sector must realise, sooner rather than later, that their survival will depend on their growth in export markets especially with increased foreign competition at home.