AMMAN -- Truck drivers carrying goods to or through Syria continue to complain of delays in entry clearance by Syrian border authorities.
According to the director of the customs department at the Jaber border crossing, Nader Jweinat, freight traffic between the two countries has declined in recent months due to strict and slow entry procedures.
Jweinat told The Jordan Times on Thursday that trucks carrying goods to Syria or other markets such as Turkey sometimes spend several days waiting at the Jaber-Nasib border crossing.
President of the Jordan Truck Owners Association Mohammad Dawood confirmed that he was aware of several instances of days-long delays.
In recent remarks to The Jordan Times, Director General of the Jordan Customs Department Ghaleb Sarayreh said overland cargo movement between Jordan and Syria has dropped by 20 per cent since the start of the turmoil in Syria nearly a year ago.
According to official figures, between 300 and 400 freight trucks used to enter the Kingdom through Syria on a daily basis.
Dawood pointed out that around seven trucks carrying fruits to Iraq through Syria were stuck at the Syrian border for days this week because authorities refused to allow them entry.
Asked why the trucks would use the Syrian route to enter Iraq, Dawood explained that sometimes Iraqi authorities at the Karameh border crossing refuse to allow trucks carrying vegetables and fruits to enter the country to protect their domestic produce.
Drivers who are not allowed to enter through the Karameh border crossing head to the Jaber-Nasib crossing, but sometimes Iraqi authorities alert their Syrian counterparts to deny such trucks entry, he said.
However, Jweinat said the trucks were finally allowed to enter Syria on Thursday.
© Jordan Times 2012
