Jordan imported almost $5.6 million worth of hardwood lumber and veneer from the US in 2009, signaling significant demand, said an expert.

Roderick Wiles, director of the American Hardwood Export Council (Ahec) for Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Oceania, was speaking on the sidelines of a recent seminar on American hardwood at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman.

“This trend seems to be continuing this year, with $500,000 of American hardwood lumber alone being imported during the first quarter of 2010,” Wiles said.

“Increased usage of US hardwoods in Jordan’s expanding furniture and interiors sectors is a sign that high quality raw materials are appreciated and it could help the furniture sector to further expand its export business.”

The Jordanian Furniture Exporters and Manufacturers Association (JFEMA), a non-profit organisation, underlined its support for the American Hardwood Seminar and Lumber Grading Workshop, Ahec’s first initiative in the kingdom.

“The support extended by JFEMA underlines the importance of this event, and we would like to thank them, as well as our local partner A A Kattan & Sons for their contributions in making this event a resounding success,” Wiles added.

With approximately 3,000 furniture manufacturers operating in Jordan, which employ an estimated 20,000 employees, the Kingdom’s furniture industry has achieved remarkable success in introducing new product lines into both domestic and export markets, a statement said.

Ahec’s planned foray into this market is aimed at further boosting the quality of furniture products produced in the country by helping manufacturers to understand the potential offered by America’s wide range of hardwood species, which offer a wealth of design and suitability options for this growing sector, the statement added.

“The remarkable creativity of Jordanian furniture designers and our capacity to produce adequate volume of products have allowed us to meet the dynamic furniture demand across the world’s largest markets,” said Ali Khreino, CEO, JFEMA.

“However, we believe that access to American-produced hardwoods can provide Jordanian manufacturers an excellent opportunity to develop an even higher quality of products, which can be appreciated by customers in the region and across the globe,” Ali Khreino concluded. – TradeArabia News Service