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Saudi truck owners seek 6 months postponement of new regulations

They complained that they have a lot to lose from the decision and proposed postponement for six months until they can comply with the new regulations.

The Jeddah Port Customs Authority's decision to ban transferring frozen products from foreign to the local refrigerated trucks last week resulted in stopping 5,000 such trucks from working and in the loss of some SR120 million monthly for their owners.

A meeting 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 refrigerated truck owners and food merchants discussed the mechanisms for implementing the decision.

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 refrigerated trucks for inspection and then re-loading the items in local ones 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 refrigerated trucks.

Last week Jeddah Port prevented local 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 truck owners are expected to upgrade their trucks to meet the new standards.