Dubai: Transport operators and traders are feeling the heat of the stalemate on the border between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The cost to business is likely to be substantial, with one cross-border transportation specialist suggesting business could be down by as much as 50 per cent as a result of the impasse.
"Last month, we completed 300 trips. This month, we will be able to make a maximum of 150 trips. At the moment, we have more than five trailers stuck at the border," Tennison Abraham, sales manager at Royal Truck Transport, which operates services to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, told Gulf News.
Abraham said the current delays may also result in loss of customers for the company.
"The customers are also in a tight position. One customer from Bahrain called me to say they were taking cargo by sea because it was cheaper than road transport. GCC countries are preferring containers now," Abraham said. However, Royal Truck Transport is not facing problems with its express cargo business, which Abraham said was being cleared without delay. It is the clearance of general cargo at the border that is being delayed severely.
Traders, particularly those of perishable goods, are also concerned about the likely impact of the crisis on their business.
"Our dairy products come from Saudi Arabia, but surprisingly, we have not had any problems," Nandkumar V., head of corporate communications at Lulu Supermarket, said, hinting at the one-sided nature of the current border crisis.
In a spot: 'I want to go home'Their patience has run out, they want to quit and go home. This was the mood among the drivers at Al Ghuwaifat on Sunday, even as the queue of trucks was reduced from 37 km to 22 km.
Though Saudi authorities eased the stringent checks to some extent to allow trucks in, there are still more than 7,500 trucks stuck at the border.
Athaniakal, an Indian driver, said six drivers had quit their jobs last week and gone home. "I own this truck, but I want to sell it off at the earliest and go home. I want to finish this trip to Qatar and go home," he said.
Saidu, another Indian driver, said: "I want to go home, but I can't afford to do so because I may not get a good price for the truck."
- Binsal Abdul Kader/Staff Reporter
