AMMAN -- Land cargo movement between Jordan and Syria has dropped by 20 per cent since the start of turmoil in Syria 11 months ago, a senior official said.
But the past month saw tangible progress in the freight activity, which is vital for both neighbours, the official and a union leader said.
Jordan Customs Department (JCD) Director General Ghaleb Sarayreh told The Jordan Times over the phone Sunday that turbulence in the Syrian side is blamed for the slow transportation of goods from Jordan to Syria, Turkey and Europe.
"Syrian customs and security authorities at the border crossing have time-consuming procedures in processing the shipments passing through their territory," he said.
However, Sarayreh pointed out that the past month witnessed an improvement in truck movement across the Syrian border, as more trucks entered the country, compared to the average number of vehicles in previous months.
According to the Jordan Truck Owners Association President Mohammad Dawood, the improvement in January was so substantial that the truck movement increased by 11 per cent, compared to 2010 figures.
"We are facing some difficulties with hesitant truck drivers who refuse to drive into Syria in such unsafe situations," said Dawood in remarks to The Jordan Times.
The union, he said, addresses such a challenge by hiring Syrian trucks -- almost 40 daily -- to carry Jordanian vegetables and fruits directly from the Jordan Valley farms to the Syrian border, according to the sector leader.
The average number of Jordanian cargo trucks carrying Jordanian vegetables, the most demanded export to Syria, has reached 70 to 80 trucks daily since the beginning of the turbulence in March last year after it had reached a peak of 110 trucks daily before the violence.
Other than vegetables and fruits, Syria imports various commodities from Jordan such as cement and basic commodities. But recently, vegetables were the main item demanded by the Syrian market, according to Dawood.
Syria is not only a market for Jordanian products, it is also a transit route for Jordanian trucks carrying exports to Turkey and Europe. An average of 35 to 40 transit trucks cross to the Syrian border to Turkey, of which one-third are Jordanian.
As a result of the ongoing turmoil in Syria, the Kingdom asked Iraqi authorities in December last year to allow Jordanian trucks carrying goods to Turkey and Europe to travel through Iraq as an alternative transit path for Syria.
No response from authorities in Baghdad has yet been received although they said at that time they would need a month to complete measures related to legislation, customs and security.
© Jordan Times 2012
