A war in Iraq will have less impact on the commodities market in the UAE, industry officials said, though traders are storing food and commodities in Kuwait to fill a long-standing vacuum in Iraq.
Commodity exports to Kuwait are expected to be routed overland from Saudi Arabia instead of being shipped through the Gulf.
The Gulf's shipping route will be affected by war, as aircraft carriers will be in action. Many traders are stockpiling commodities in the northern parts of Kuwait for quick transportation to nearby Iraqi cities once the war ends.
According to officials, many traders are eyeing the Iraqi market where a vacuum has been in existence due to the sanctions.
"We are getting a lot of orders from various clients in Kuwait. A lot of importers in Kuwait are currently stockpiling commodities across the Iraq-Kuwait border to penetrate the Iraqi market once the war is over," said Harish Kathuria, financial controller of Al Safeer Group, which runs a chain of supermarkets and stores across the UAE.
"Iraq is a big market. In the post-war scenario, there will be a big shortage of essential commodities and a large number of traders would like to take advantage of the vacuum," he added.
Tarek Serajeldin, marketing manager of California Garden, said: "We expect the demand to go up in case of a war in Iraq. The movement of our products towards Kuwait has increased as I guess the wholesalers are increasing their stocks as a precautionary measure for war."
Syed Neyamatullah, of Emirates Macaroni Factory, noted: "We export macaroni to Kuwait, though the local Kuwaiti manufacturers are serving that market. There are traders who are piling up stocks for the post-war vacuum in the Iraqi market which is a big one.
"We have kept our eyes open for the market. We hope there is no war and the conflict is resolved peacefully."
Gulf News 2003
