AMMAN -- The first local exposition of Jordan-made goods begins Thursday with the aim of promoting domestic products among local consumers.
According to the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI), which is organising the event, the eight-day expo will host 107 stalls exhibiting a diverse range of products made by over 100 local firms.
Manufacturers taking part in the expo, to be held at Al Hussein Youth City, will sell their products directly to the public, ACI President Hatem Halawani said at a press conference Wednesday, indicating that goods on display will include cosmetics, health and medical supplies, electronics, clothes, furniture, food products and construction materials.
Halawani said the expo will be an opportunity for consumers to purchase their needs for Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr as well as school supplies for the fall.
Calling on consumers to visit the show to get to know "the advanced level of quality of products made in Jordan", the industrialist indicated that the event will be held every year to promote local goods in the domestic market.
What industrialists want from the exhibition is to enhance consumers' confidence in domestic goods, said ACI board member Musa Saket, who complained that despite the "good" international reputation of goods produced in the Kingdom, Jordanians still prefer foreign products.
Saket also called on government agencies to give priority to domestic products in public tenders.
Fathi Jaghbeir, president of the Small and Medium Enterprises Association and an ACI board member, said at the press conference that prices of products on display will be around 30 per cent cheaper than in the local market.
Indicating that Jordanian products are exported to around 120 countries worldwide, Jaghbeir noted that many Jordanians purchase imported products at exorbitant prices simply as a means of conspicuous consumption.
Saket, who expected the event to attract large numbers of shoppers, said the chamber will launch a promotional campaign in September for Jordanian-made products.
The expo will be open from 2:00pm to 6:30pm and from 9:00pm to 1:00am until August 9.
© Jordan Times 2012
