Taiwanese apparel firms eyeing Jordan for expansion

Representatives from 20 Taiwanese apparel firms who visited Jordan, as part of their provincial tour, held one-to-one meetings with entrepreneurs in Jordan, wherein they explained them regarding their products.

The entrepreneurs, participating in the tour arranged by the Taiwan commercial office in Amman, seek to explore new markets for Taiwanese apparels and strengthen Taiwan’s business ties with Arab nations.

A representative while stressing on the competitive quality of the apparel products manufactured in Taiwan, stated that, as these products are getting expensive in China, it has become easy for the Taiwanese apparels to contest them, particularly as they have superior quality to offer than China.

Both the countries jointly traded apparel products worth $220 million during 2009. Of this, Jordan exported products worth $40 million to Taiwan, while Taiwan exported goods worth $180 million to Jordan.

Presently, there are six Taiwanese firms which are functional in Jordan’s garment industry, of which two are located in the Qualifying Industrial Zones of Irbid, one in Karak and rest of the three in Sahab.

The combined exports of these firms constituted 40 percent of the overall garment exports of the country. But all these firms have been facing a common problem of labour scarcity, and hence are required to shift a portion of their business elsewhere in order to expand.