Sales have dropped in clothing and shoe stores across the Kingdom amid the coronavirus crisis and the heat wave that has been affecting the country for weeks, said the representative of the apparel, shoes, fabrics and jewelry sector in the Amman Chamber of Commerce, Asaad Al Qawasmi, on Saturday.

There is a complete halt in sales of shoes and clothes in the local market despite the start of the winter season — merchants usually switch to winter merchandise during this time of year, said Qawasmi.

The sector has been affected from successive accumulations that brought down sales despite the stability of prices, indicating that the sector’s trade has not exceeded 20 percent since the beginning of 2020, added Al Qawasmi.

The clothing and footwear sector is considered one of the sectors that adds value to local trade and has been the most affected by the coronavirus crisis, he said.

Qawasmi stressed that the official authorities did not provide specific solutions to help merchants overcome the difficulties they faced.

There are 11,000 shops across the kingdom offering 53,000 job opportunities, 97% of which for Jordanian workers.

Sixty percent of shops are located in the capital, occupying 60% of spaces in major commercial centers and malls, said Qawasmi.

The sector is one of the sectors that pay the most taxes and customs, he added.

Qawasmi proposed launching incentive packages to revive the sector, reducing sales tax and customs fees, and cancelling the customs service fee of 5%.

Granting the sector's workers exemptions from fines, bank and government interest, and setting up a mechanism to end the issue of shop rents during difficult times including partial and total lockdowns, were also proposed by Qawasmi.