Jordan Import Trade Data: $25.71B in 2023, Down 6.05%

Nearly All of Jordan's Oil Comes From Saudi Arabia

Jordan imported $25.71 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 6.05% from $27.36 billion in 2022. Mineral fuels topped every import category at 13.36% of the total, worth $3.43 billion. Jordan is one of the most hydrocarbon-poor countries in the Middle East, with no significant oil or gas production of its own, and imports nearly all of its oil at an average of 2.5 million barrels a month from Saudi Arabia. That single supply relationship is a big part of why Saudi Arabia sits so close to the top of Jordan's import list. A pipeline and shipping route running from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu into Jordan's own port of Aqaba carries much of that crude. Vehicles ranked second among import categories at 9.05% ($2.33 billion). That is unsurprising for a country that builds none of its own cars and has to import every vehicle on its roads, from commuter sedans to commercial trucks.

Natural and cultured pearls, precious stones, precious metals and jewelry made up a surprisingly large 6.77% of imports, worth $1.74 billion. Dubai handles roughly 15% of worldwide gold trade, mostly through the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, and that hub sits right next door to Jordan. Jordan imported $387.64 million worth of pearls, precious stones, metals and coins from the UAE in 2024 alone, a category dominated by jewelry and unwrought gold rather than industrial raw materials. Machinery and mechanical appliances added 6.15% ($1.58 billion), and electrical machinery contributed 5.21% ($1.34 billion). These are the kind of manufactured goods a small economy without heavy industry has to buy in rather than build. A category labeled commodities not specified according to kind, a catch-all used when trade data cannot cleanly sort goods elsewhere, added 4.81% ($1.24 billion). Cereals contributed 3.81% ($978.42 million), reflecting how much of Jordan's own food supply has to come from abroad in a country with limited arable land. Plastics and articles thereof added 3.24% ($833.61 million), and pharmaceutical products contributed 3.02% ($775.23 million), inputs and finished medicines that feed the same generic drug industry that also ships product out on the export side.

China and Saudi Arabia Anchor Jordan's Import List

China supplied 17.49% of Jordan's imports in 2023, worth $4.50 billion, more than any other single source. Saudi Arabia ranked second at 14.20% ($3.65 billion), and United States followed at 6.39% ($1.64 billion). Together, these top three sources made up 38.08% of total import value. India added 6.02% ($1.55 billion), and United Arab Emirates contributed 5.33% ($1.37 billion), the gold and jewelry connection sitting alongside China and Saudi Arabia near the top of the list.

Germany supplied 3.50% ($900.35 million), largely machinery and vehicles, and Turkey added 3.06% ($786.20 million). Indonesia contributed 2.88% ($739.25 million), and Egypt supplied 2.71% ($696.93 million), a relationship that also carries much of Jordan's imported natural gas. A grouping labeled areas not elsewhere specified, a catch-all for sources trade data does not break out individually, closed out the top ten at 2.70% ($694.61 million). Fabrics, knitted or crocheted, ranked further down the list at 2.56% ($659.15 million), a category worth noting since it feeds directly into the apparel Jordan cuts and sews for export to the USA on the other side of its trade ledger.

Imports Spiked in 2022 Alongside Global Energy Prices, Then Pulled Back

Jordan's import total climbed for three straight years before pulling back in 2023. It stood at $19.34 billion in 2019, then fell to $17.01 billion in 2020 as global trade slowed during the pandemic. It recovered to $21.54 billion in 2021, then jumped sharply to $27.36 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year stretch. The 2023 figure of $25.71 billion, down 6.05% year over year, still sits well above every year before 2022.

That 2022 spike lines up with a period when global energy prices surged worldwide, pushing up the cost of the crude oil Jordan has to buy from Saudi Arabia regardless of how much it actually consumes. Jordan's own export total jumped the same year, for largely separate reasons tied to fertilizer demand and apparel orders. Seeing both sides of Jordan's trade rise together in 2022, then pull back only slightly on the export side while pulling back harder on the import side in 2023, points to energy costs as the biggest single swing factor behind these numbers. A country that produces almost none of its own oil will always feel global price swings first and hardest on the import side of its ledger.