Turkish export representatives are exploring the feasibility of utilizing maritime logistics to alleviate the congestion of trucks at the Türkiye-Bulgaria border. The focus has shifted towards transporting vehicles to Romania via sea, aiming to circumvent the bottleneck issues experienced at the Kapıkule and Hamzabeyli border gates, which serve as the primary conduits for Turkish exports into Europe. These border points often experience prolonged queues, particularly during peak shipment seasons, exacerbated by Bulgaria's integration into the Schengen Zone and extensive pesticide residue inspections for agricultural products.
To address these challenges, Turkish exporters, supported by institutional frameworks, have initiated a maritime route operation. Despite previous considerations of potential routes to Greece and Italy, attention is now on Romania's Constanta Port as a viable alternative, according to Ümit Mirza Çavuşoğlu, head of the Western Mediterranean Exporters' Association (BAİB). The plan involves loading a portion of the trucks onto ships at Türkiye's Sakarya Port and transporting them to Constanta via the Black Sea, facilitating onward travel to various European markets.
Çavuşoğlu highlighted the arbitrary delays and rejections faced by nearly half of the loaded trucks, attributing it to a covert blockade by Europe, an issue that has become chronic over the past three years. In response, a delegation of Turkish exporters recently engaged with Romanian port authorities, marking significant progress, including the establishment of a laboratory in Romania for conducting residue testing on fruits and vegetables, ensuring compliance with European standards.
The maritime solution, if realized, could see an initial dispatch of 300 trucks per day to Romania, with aspirations to increase this to 600. While currently led by the private sector, government support is expected in the near future. Concerns have been raised about potential objections from Bulgaria, potentially escalating the issue to the European Union. Nonetheless, the plan has garnered support from industry stakeholders, including Şerafettin Aras, head of the International Transporters' Association, who noted the inadequacy of current border infrastructure to handle the daily flow of export and import trucks.
Source: Daily News