Amman- Jordan's trade deficit grew by 37.8 per cent in the first eight months of the year, to 4.66 billion dinars (6.58 billion dollars), according to official statistics released on Monday.

That compares with a deficit of 3.381 billion dinars in the same period of 2007.

Economists attribute the widening trade gap mainly to a 35.3 per cent rise in the country's imports, which totaled 8.303 billion dinars in the first eight months of 2008. That compares with a total of
6.39 million dinars in the same period of last year.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan's main oil supplier, topped the list of exporters to Jordan, followed by China and Germany, according to the state-run Department of Statistics in its monthly report about the country's external trade.

The department also reported a 37 per cent increase in the country's exports. Re-exports stood at 3.643 billion dinars in the first eight months of the year, compared with 2.659 billion dinars in the same period of 2007.

India was the largest recipient of Jordanian exports, followed by the United States and Iraq. (dpa)