JEDDAH,18 August 2005 — The Jeddah Port Customs Authority’s decision to ban transferring frozen products from foreign to the local coolers last week has resulted in stopping five thousand cooler trucks from working and in the loss of some SR120 million monthly for the cooler owners. A meeting was held at the Jeddah Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday between the customs’ manager, Sulaiman Al-Tuaijri, and the JCCI secretary general, Mohammed Al-Sharif, with a number of customs clearance company representatives and cooler owners and food merchants discussing the mechanisms for implementing the decision. The cooler owners complained that they have the most to lose from the decision and proposed the postponement of the decision for six months until they can comply with the new regulations to upgrade their coolers, reported Al-Eqtisadiyah newspaper, a sister publication of Arab News.
Saleh Al-Barrak, general manager of the Customs Authority, said that the government had agreed to provide the best and latest technology for inspecting containers using x-rays without the need to empty the cargo. This method is better at protecting the cargo from damage and better serves the consumer due to the process of emptying the foreign coolers for inspection and then re-loading the items in local coolers under hot and humid weather conditions. He said the decision was not a surprise and that the Customs Authority had informed importers and their representatives two years ago of the decision and gave them time to stop bringing in foreign coolers. Last week Jeddah Port prevented local cooler trucks from entering the port to transfer cargo from ships which they claim has affected the flow of consumer products and raised their price. However, the Customs Authority said that the decision was final and would be enforced but the port authority will try to cooperate in preventing backlogs or obstacles. The cooler owners are expected to upgrade their trucks to meet the new standards.
