AMMAN — The
Association Owners of Clearance and Transport Companies issued a statement
regarding the sector achievements in 2021, which shows the activity in the
sector after the end of closures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
اضافة اعلان
“Transactions in
2021 increased compared to 2020, and the numbers show that,” Daifallah Abu
Aqoula told
Jordan News.
The figures issued
by the association show that clearance and transport companies filled in
784,000 customs declarations during last year, compared to 683,000 in 2020,
distributed among export, import and transit transactions.
Abu Aqoula said
that last year recorded a more than 100 percent increase in the volume of
transit traffic from
Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) to Syria and Palestine,
compared to previous year, when it had dealt with 7,903 containers.
On the other hand,
there was a 4.48 percent decline in the volume of transit to Iraq during the
last 10 months of last year, as the number of containers passing through ACT
toward Iraq decreased to 5,191 compared to 10,064 in the same period of 2020.
Abu Aqoula added
that there was a 28.7 percent decline in the number of containers entering the
free and industrial zones during the past year, which registered 3,129
containers, compared to 4,387 containers in 2020.
Abu Aqoula said
that 1,845 ships docked in the main port of
Aqaba last year, compared to 1,578
in 2020, and the volume of local imports reached 9.885 million tonnes, while
the volume of exports amounted to 4.830 million tonnes.
He also said that
the problems facing the clearance and transport sector are not new, but started
10 years ago, since trade with Syria was affected due to the situation at the
Jaber crossing. Also affecting the sector were the security situation in Iraq
and the closure of the Karama port, of Bab Al-Hawa Turkish border crossing, and
of the landline with Europe, which was the link between Jordan, Georgia,
Bulgaria, and Romania.
Abu Aqoula said that
the fees imposed on
Jordanian and Syrian trucks should be reviewed, as should
be the fees levied on Jordanian trucks, which are very high.
He also called on
the
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority to grant discounts on handling fees
imposed on transit goods in order to attract imports and goods through the port
of Aqaba, and urged the relevant Aqaba authorities to reconsider the percentage
of goods undergoing inspection, as this would solve the problem of accumulation
and disruption of goods, and of shortage of laborers, and reduce the value of
goods imported to Jordan.
Ahmed Wahadneh,
owner of a transport and clearing company, told
Jordan News that 2021
was much better than previous years, especially concerning land freight between
Jordan and
Syria. As for problems these companies face, Wahadneh said that the
electronic procedures that the government has resorted to, to speed up
transactions, are not being implemented as they should.
“There is a very
slow response, which obstructs operations, thus indirectly increasing costs for
companies,” he said.
Saleh Al-Khatib,
owner of a land, sea, and air freight company, said that business had improved
in 2021, but not as well as it should. He said that some restrictions and
closures still affect the work and cause losses to some companies.
Khatib added that
the fees imposed on Jordanian and Syrian trucks are unreasonable, asking the
government to reconsider them and activate the memorandum of understanding
signed to reduce costs, attract traders and importers, and encourage trade
between the two countries.
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