Trucking sector incurs JD6m loss since Gulf rift started

AMMAN — The rift among Gulf countries has caused a loss of over JD6 million  to the local trucking industry over the past month, a sector leader said on Monday. 

President of the Jordan Truck Owners Association Mohammad Dawood told The Jordan Times that since the start of the crisis, which saw Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries boycott Qatar, Jordan has incurred losses in visa permit fees and exports to Qatar, as more than 500 trucks that stopped operating from Jordan. 

Jordan’s exports to Qatar include fruits and vegetables, sheep and vehicles. Before the crisis, Dawood said, between six and 10 car carriers departed from the Kingdom daily bound for Qatar, through the Gulf state’s border crossing with Saudi Arabia, which was closed.

“There isn’t any clear vision from the government on alternative markets to replace the closed ones. The sector’s losses have been increasing, after it had already been suffering major losses over the past six years,” he told The Jordan Times.

The sector has also incurred critical losses since the Syrian crisis erupted, he said, adding that the financial losses have reached around JD655 million with the closure of the borders with neighbouring Syria and Iraq. 

Around 300 trucks used to travel to Iraq daily, and over 100 trucks to Syria, in addition to dozens more to Eastern Europe, Turkey, Libya, and Yemen, which all have almost come to a halt as conflicts are still raging in the region, Dawood noted.

The number of Jordanian trucks operating inside and outside Jordan amounts to nearly 17,000, he added.

Last month, Saudi Arabia, joined by the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt decided to sever ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting extremism in the region.

The move was later followed by Yemen and the Maldives.