Qatar retools after boycott by top auto parts supplier Dubai
DOHA: In a dusty industrial zone in the south of Doha where the city’s auto repair shops are clustered, one unlucky blue Hyundai Santa Fe has been sitting with its front smashed in since June 5, the day four Arab nations announced a boycott of Qatar.
The SUV has fallen foul of the tiny state’s dependence on Jebel Ali in neighbouring Dubai, the first port of call for car companies distributing spare parts across the region but no longer an option for Doha since its neighbours severed ties.
The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, which it denies.
With its traditional land, sea and air trade routes cut off, Doha has had to scramble to find new suppliers to replace everything from Saudi Arabian milk to Emirati engine oil.
It also has had to quickly pull together complicated new logistics, involving a mix of new air and maritime routes and use of nearby ports in Oman and Kuwait for re-export.
In many ways it has been a success. The boycott, which entered its sixth month this week, touches life on the streets only in minor ways, with Turkish dairy and Iranian vegetables taking the place of Arab foodstuffs on store shelves. Items are generally available and prices only modestly higher.
One exception has been auto parts, residents say.
In car-obsessed Qatar, where status symbol Bentleys and BMWs zip down the Doha cornice at night, spare parts that once arrived in days from Dubai can now take weeks or even months, leaving vehicles languishing in shops and drivers frustrated.
A manager at one American automobile dealership in the industrial area, who asked not to be named, described the situation as desperate.
“You have customers coming in and screaming, saying ‘my car has been here two to three months.’ And you’re just helpless. What do you say?”
Although most imports have recovered to near pre-crisis levels after dropping sharply on the boycott, auto imports in September were 40 per cent lower than their year-earlier level.
The manager said attempts to re-route orders from Jebel Ali to Oman and Kuwait for re-export were abandoned because paying two sets of customs fees and additional shipping spiked costs 20 to 40 per cent.
The situation has improved in recent weeks after the dealership moved to import directly by air from the United States, he said, but the process took months to set up.
“Until ten days ago we didn’t have batteries or oil. We were taking batteries out of the new cars.” — Reuters