Gulf Cooperation Council: Suttar concerned at disruption to shipping, customs operations

KARACHI: Ismail Suttar, Founder Chairman of the Salt Manufacturers Association Pakistan (SMAP), has voiced concern over the continuing disruption to regional shipping and customs operations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), warning that prolonged delays and rising logistics costs are undermining Pakistan’s export competitiveness and disrupting regional trade flows.

Ismail Suttar said exporters and importers across the region continue to face mounting challenges as delays in customs clearance, particularly at Dubai and other major GCC gateways, have become increasingly common despite shipments reaching their destinations on schedule.

“Businesses are no longer dealing only with elevated freight rates,” he said. “The growing delays in customs processing after cargo arrives at destination ports are resulting in additional storage, detention and administrative costs, significantly increasing the landed cost of goods and creating uncertainty throughout the supply chain.”

He observed that while shipping companies have gradually adjusted their operations in response to the evolving geopolitical situation, the overall logistics environment remains fragile. According to Suttar, exporters are fulfilling their contractual shipping schedules, but post-arrival bottlenecks continue to delay deliveries, affecting commercial planning for exporters, importers, freight forwarders, shipping lines, terminal operators and customs authorities alike.

Referring to the impact of the recent regional conflict, Suttar noted that several leading global container carriers, including Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, have yet to fully restore their traditional routing through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, transit times have lengthened considerably while schedule reliability has deteriorated and operating costs have increased.

“Before the regional tensions, shipments to Jebel Ali generally reached within two to three days. Today, transit periods of 15 to 20 days have become increasingly common, placing additional financial pressure on exporters,” he said.

He added that emergency freight surcharges, war-risk premiums, higher insurance costs, port congestion and prolonged storage charges have collectively increased the cost of doing business, particularly for manufacturers and exporters operating on tight production and delivery schedules.

Suttar said the salt industry has been among the hardest-hit export sectors because salt is a low-value bulk commodity whose export viability is highly dependent on freight costs. He explained that the value of salt is relatively meagre, whereas freight charges have risen to many times the value of the product itself. “When the cost of transporting salt exceeds the value of the cargo, exporters simply cannot remain competitive in international markets. Consequently, salt has emerged as one of the products that has suffered the most from the current shipping and logistics disruptions,” he said.

Ismail Suttar warned that the continued disruption is complicating inventory management, extending cash conversion cycles and reducing the predictability essential for international trade.

The cumulative impact, he said, is being felt across manufacturing, wholesale, retail distribution and customer fulfilment, affecting businesses of all sizes.

He stressed that efficient regional logistics depend not only on the availability of shipping services but also on timely customs clearance and smooth cargo handling at destination ports.

“When shipments remain unnecessarily delayed after arrival, the consequences extend across the entire supply chain,” he said, adding that stronger coordination among shipping lines, freight forwarders, customs authorities, terminal operators and regulators would be essential to restore confidence in regional trade.

Ismail Suttar urged all stakeholders to work collectively to improve supply chain visibility, streamline customs procedures, reduce avoidable delays and strengthen operational coordination across GCC ports. Such measures, he said, would help lower unnecessary logistics costs while facilitating the uninterrupted movement of goods across regional markets.

SMAP Founder Chairman said that as regional trade continues to adapt to changing market conditions, strengthening cooperation throughout the logistics ecosystem will be critical to building resilient supply chains and enabling businesses to serve both regional and international markets more efficiently.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026