Trade exchange between Jordan and the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, GAFTA member countries rose by 21.8 percent in the first 6 months of 2012, according to Department of Statistics (DoS) figures. Trade exchange between the two sides stood at JD5.38 billion in the first half of this year compared to JD4.134 billion in the same period of last year, the figures revealed. The Kingdom’s exports to GAFTA member countries drooped by 8.4 percent standing at JD1.103 billion compared to JD1.205 billion in the same period. The Iraqi market ranked first as it imported JD306 million worth of Jordanian products, followed by Saudi Arabia with JD241 million and Syria with JD109 million. The Kingdom’s imports from GAFTA members countries went up by 14.6 percent in the first 6 months of 2012 standing at JD2.751 billion compared to JD2.399 billion in the same period of 2011. Saudi Arabia ranked first as the value of its exports to Jordan stood at JD1.90 billion, followed by Egypt with JD275 million and the UAE with JD183 million.