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Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has complained that a recent UAE ban on the import of raw Saudi dates violates the customs union agreement of the Gulf Cooperation Council to which the two countries belong.
A senior Saudi official told Gulf News on Tuesday that the kingdom's Finance and National Economy Minister Dr Ebrahim Al Assaf made the complaint to his UAE counterpart.
Saleh Al Barak, the Saudi Customs director-general, said Al Assaf protested about new UAE customs regulations imposing the ban and said they were having a negative impact on the movement of products between the two countries.
"During his contacts with the UAE minister a few weeks ago, Dr Assaf termed the conditions as violation of the unified GCC customs agreement," Al Barak said.
However, earlier, Saudi border customs blocked UAE trucks and forced them to pay additional duty for products imported through UAE's ports, which senior UAE officials said violate the GCC Customs Union.
Ahmad Al Samari, president of the National Agricultural Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, also said the "advance permission for import" required by the UAE is contrary to bilateral agreements between the two countries as well as the GCC agreement and other agreements between Arab countries.
Al Barak said high-level contacts were underway and he believed the crisis would soon be overcome following the intervention of higher authorities.
Reports of the UAE ban emerged about a month ago when the 2006 date harvest was already underway. Under new customs regulations set by the UAE Ministry of Agriculture Saudi date exporters must obtain a UAE permit and a UAE health certificate before shipping dates, and only dates processed for added value are accepted.
Barak said that the Saudi government was determined to overcome the crisis and reduce the losses to date traders to a minimum.
The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry has received an invitation to take part in the UAE Dates Exhibition November 7-11.
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