Jordan's Food Exports Climb 16.3% to $991.5M in First Eight Months of 2026
Food manufacturing outgrew Jordan's wider industrial exports as Saudi Arabia and Iraq held the top two buyer slots and shipments to Syria more than doubled.
Jordan's food industry exports reached $991.5 million (JD 703 million) in the first eight months of 2026, a 16.3% increase on the same period a year earlier, according to figures from the Jordan Chamber of Industry.
Growth came from across Arab and European markets rather than one destination. Saudi Arabia remained the largest buyer, taking about $227.1 million (JD 161 million) in Jordanian food products, up 8% from $210.2 million (JD 149 million) in January-August 2025.
Iraq ranked second and expanded faster. Shipments there rose 34.3% to $207.3 million (JD 147 million), against $157.9 million (JD 112 million) a year earlier.
Smaller markets recorded the sharpest percentage gains. Exports to Syria more than doubled, climbing 110% to $36.6 million (JD 26 million). Palestine took roughly $38.1 million (JD 27 million), an 83% increase. The Netherlands rose 47% to $18.3 million (JD 13 million) from $12.69 million (JD 9 million). Qatar grew 34% to about $53.6 million (JD 38 million) and Kuwait 19% to $40.9 million (JD 29 million).
The UAE, a long-standing outlet for Jordanian food producers, added 4% to reach $104.3 million (JD 74 million). Two markets moved the other way: shipments to the United States fell 21% and exports to Yemen slipped 4%.
Mohammad Jitan, vice chairman of the chamber and its representative for the food, catering, agricultural and livestock sector, said the rise reflected both higher export values and broader diversification in markets and products. He named European markets as an important growth opportunity and described the Netherlands as a strategic commercial and logistical base that could act as a gateway for Jordanian goods to reach more importers and distributors.
Jitan also said manufacturers must meet international quality, food safety and technical standards if the expansion is to be sustained.
Among commodity groups, diverse food preparations carried the highest export value at $134 million (JD 95 million), up 24% from $108.6 million (JD 77 million). Meat and meat preparations rose 36.6% to approximately $131.2 million (JD 93 million), an increase of $35.26 million (JD 25 million) year on year.
Food processing outpaced the wider industrial sector. Jordan's industrial exports rose 8.3% to $8.52 billion (JD 6.04 billion) over the same eight months, and industrial products accounted for 93.5% of the country's total exports.
The gap between those two growth rates is the part worth watching. Food manufacturing draws on local agricultural inputs, and the buyers driving this increase — Gulf and Levant markets — sit close enough to be supplied by road rather than sea freight. That makes the sector a practical test of whether Jordan can turn geography into export earnings, and of whether smaller plants can clear the certification hurdles that larger manufacturers already meet. The steepest percentage gains came from Syria and Palestine, two markets working off low bases, which suggests the near-neighbour corridor is still far from saturated.
