A land route from Turkey to Qatar via Iran
is now operational, with 200 trucks of food
having already arrived in the Persian Gulf
peninsula.
According to Press TV, the trucks carrying
milk, fruits, vegetables, grains and other
food products made the journey from the Turkish
city of Mardin to the Iranian port of Bushehr
in the Persian Gulf from where they were carried
by Ro-Ro ships to the Qatari port of Ruwais.
Qatar is under a blockade by Saudi Arabia,
the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt which cut trade
and transport links with Doha in June in a
diplomatic dispute which has exposed serious
fissures in the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC).
Turkey and Iran were quick to ease the economic
stranglehold on the tiny Arab nation, flying
food and other commodities as the diplomatic
fallout escalated, and then agreeing on a
land route to export goods to Qatar.
The Doha-based Al Sharq newspaper quoted prominent
Qatari businessman Ahmed al-Khalaf as saying
that the new land trade line between Turkey
and Qatar via Iran was reducing the cost of
transportation drastically.
Meanwhile, the sea route between Turkey and
Qatar initially took 11 days, while a separate
land route took 14 days.
The new commercial land line via Iran has
shortened the duration to less than two days.
The distance between Mardin and Bushehr is
about 1,700 km, which can be traveled by trucks
in about 22 hours.
The route by sea between Bushehr and Qatar’s
Hamad Port takes just 8 hours to cover, where
the wheeled cargo is carried by roll on/roll
off ships.
This means a truck with Turkish goods can
reach Doha via Iran in less than two days.
The Iran trade route is “a significant step
in tackling the illegal blockade as less transportation
time means perishable goods can be transported
quickly without damage,” the Qatari daily
The Peninsula wrote.
According to board member of Qatar Chamber
Mohammed bin Mahdi Al Ahbabi, the new route
via Iran has been reducing the cost of transportation
by about 80 percent compared to air cargo.
“The cost of air freight is ranging between
$1.2 and $1.5 per kilogram, while the cost
of road transport (via Iran) is approximately
15 cents,” he said.
