Jordan is vying to break Israel’s dominance of a major cosmetics industry based on Dead Sea minerals famous for their therapeutic qualities but, despite an abundance of mud, still has far to go.
Two decades after production first started, the industry on the Jordanian side still has a turnover of just US$30 million a year and accounts for only 0.5 percent of the kingdom’s annual exports of about US$6 billion.
Israel’s Ahava, which markets its moisturizing lotions and a range of other Dead Sea products in 30 countries, alone earns more than US$150 million a year, five times more than all of the Jordanian companies.
Some 50 Jordanian firms produce Dead Sea cosmetics, but only 15 have a global presence in markets across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US.
“The kingdom is rich in materials and its Dead Sea shoreline is muddy, in contrast to Israel’s rocky shoreline,” said Osama Qutaishat, head of Jordan’s association of manufacturers of Dead Sea products and owner of one of its largest cosmetics companies.
Israel’s rocky shoreline has meant it has even imported raw materials from Jordan since the two countries signed a peace treaty in 1994.
“Many studies have shown that Dead Sea minerals including potassium, magnesium, silicon, sodium and calcium are effective in treating and preventing illnesses like psoriasis, eczema and acne,” Qutaishat said.
Landlocked between Jordan, Israel and the occupied West Bank, the Dead Sea is the world’s lowest and saltiest body of water.
Legend says the Queen of Sheba believed in its healing powers, and Egypt’s Cleopatra built a spa on its shores.
Lack of cooperation and the small size of the companies in the sector are the major problems of the industry, said Yarub Qudah, head of the state-owned Jordan Enterprise Development Corp.
“Their capabilities are limited. One of the solutions is systemized cooperation between the companies and the establishment of a consortium for exports,” he said.
“If the companies work properly, exports could reach 100 to 120 million dollars annually in five years,” he said, adding that if a plan to transform Dead Sea products into clinical products bears fruit, prices could jump “four or five times.”
Poor quality output by some firms has also been to blame, giving Jordanian products a bad name, the owners of some of the largest companies said.
Both Israel and Jordan are exploiting the Dead Sea tourist trade, with luxury hotels on either shore.
Both have also set up massive evaporation pools that harvest Dead Sea minerals like potash, or potassium carbonate, used to produce soap, glass, baking soda and fertilizers.
The Dead Sea, however, so named because virtually no life can tolerate its heavily salty waters, may be facing another kind of death — the sea’s surface level is plunging by a meter a year.
For centuries, the sea’s delicate balance was maintained by the Jordan river, its only year-round water source, but in recent decades Israel and Jordan have been diverting its waters into large irrigation projects.
The Dead Sea shoreline has receded by more than a kilometer in some places and the world-famous body of water could dry out completely by 2050, some calculations show.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in