Retreat business of electricals and electronics sector by 50%

Al -Anbat- Adel Fareed

The activity of the commercial sector from the beginning of the year was harsh, and unprecedented compared with the last few years representative of the electricals and electronics sector at the Jordan Chamber of Commerce Hatem Al Zoubi described.

Al Zoubi said, In a statement on Saturday " It has been a very harsh and unprecedented summer and season of the sector, purchasing power is very weak”, estimated the magnitude of the retreat of the sector’s work by a percentage of 50%, whether about appliances or electrical wirings.

He added, " that the sharp decline in sales magnitude was accompanied by a significant increase in the large stock of goods and imports and an overcrowding in merchants and importers warehouses, which had financial consequences, whether interests, wages and storage operations". Al Zoubi attributed the decline in the activity of the electrical and electronics sector to the weak purchasing power of citizens and the high cost of living, which led to the reluctance to purchase electrical appliances except for the most urgent necessity.

He explained that merchants have plenty of stock of goods in their warehouses because of the large number of imports which will lead to depreciation of it they will have high financial consequences as a result of the loans, It will cause huge losses to suppliers and merchants, amounting to about 25 percent.

Al Zoubi indicated to the decrease of the goods and materials prices in the country of origin by up to 20%, the increase in inflation, and the high rates of interest in addition to the decline in global shipping rates after reaching an unprecedented level will lead to harm to suppliers.

He also indicated that the sector of electricals and electronics is connected with the commercial sectors, especially housing and construction, which requires all support for it, especially loans, and the necessity of postponing them until the end of the year and granting them financial facilities with reduced prices.

He called for granting the sector exemptions from taxes imposed on it, whether customs, which range between 15 and 25%, depending on the type of devices, or sales tax, in addition to paying the financial dues belonging to merchants, contractors, and suppliers, and facilitating investment operations in a way that contributes to generating job opportunities.

He pointed out that the electrical sector did not receive the reduction of the customs decided by the government at the beginning of this year on many items, as the decision included reducing the tariff on a few of them, despite the absence of an equivalent in the local industry, such as electrical circuit breakers and fans.

Al-Zoubi said, "The electrical and electronics sector is a cornerstone of the entire commercial sector and constitutes one of its strong arms and needs to do more work to overcome the difficulties it faces," praising the efforts made by the Standards and Metrology Organization to facilitate the flow of goods into the Kingdom.

He added that the trade of electrical appliances in the local market is witnessing high competition between merchants due to the multiplicity of sources of imports and the large number of merchants working in the sector, whose number reaches 3,000 merchants who sell electrical appliances in the capital Amman and the governorates, and provided thousands of job opportunities. Al Zoubi stressed that the prices of electrical appliances in the market are moderate and acceptable and have decreased by reasonable rates ranging between 10 and 20 percent, and some merchants sell for less than the capital to provide financial liquidity and fulfill their obligations.