Visa Obstacles and Logistics Crisis on the Middle East Corridor Bring Exports to a Standstill

TIM Carpet Sector Board Chairman İskender Kaplan announced that a major crisis is underway in the Turkey-Syria-Jordan-Saudi Arabia corridor, which was turned to after maritime routes were closed.

Reasons for the Corridor Blockage

When maritime routes closed due to the Iran-US war, exporters were forced to use the Turkey-Syria-Jordan-Saudi Arabia route.

Visa Bureaucracy and Queues

Kilometers-long queues of trucks have formed at border gates because Saudi Arabia either fails to issue transit visas or drags the process out over months.

Crisis Affecting All Sectors

This congestion has turned into a shared nightmare that negatively affects not only the carpet sector, but all Turkish exports sending goods to the Middle East.

Product Accumulation in Factories

While buyers in Gulf countries await their orders, factory warehouses have filled up, rendering producers unable to manufacture new goods.

Exorbitant Increase in Freight Costs

While normally 1,000 to 1,500 dollars per container was paid via maritime routes, costs for road shipments provided by trucks have exceeded 10,000 dollars.

Urgent Action Call to Ministries

İskender Kaplan emphasized that the Ministries of Trade and Foreign Affairs must take urgent action by sitting down with Saudi authorities to accelerate the visa process.