Saudi Arabia officially bans Turkish products

Saudi Arabia's decision to ban
Turkish products comes into force this week in a bid to deal a blow to Turkey's
already crippled economy, the Cumhuriyet daily said on Sunday.
Riyadh has laid an unofficial
embargo on Turkish goods, including textiles and perishable food, last year.
The Saudis have been keeping
hundreds of Turkish trucks at the Saudi border and thousands of packages from
Turkey in their airports. The trucks were allowed into the country only after
an intervention by Turkish diplomats in the kingdom.
In 2017, when a Saudi-led bloc cut
ties with neighbouring Qatar, mainly for its support of the Brotherhood, Ankara
supported Doha economically and militarily. Diplomatic relations between Saudi
Arabia and Turkey remain fraught after a political crisis between the two
countries erupted over the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
in Istanbul, prompting Saudi business groups including the Riyadh Chamber of
Commerce and Industry have called for a complete boycott on Turkish products.
Saudi authorities have been
putting pressure on local businesses not to trade with Turkey and its
industries. The Turkish newspaper Dunya reported that the Saudi government has
contacted individual businesses and ordered them not to trade with Turkish
companies or buy any products made in Turkey. The government said it would
impose fines on any company that ignores the order.
"Our customers got used to Turkish products,
they are satisfied. However, they cannot buy our goods anymore. They say send
them to us via a third country,” Cumhuriyet cited a Turkish businessman, who
spoke on the condition of anonymity, as saying.
"Small and medium-sized businesses are very anxious,
especially as exports from southeastern provinces such as Hatay, Gaziantep and
Diyarbakır come to a halt," he said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has
launched a campaign to discourage its citizens from travelling to Turkey.
The kingdom's media has designated
Turkey as an unsafe location due to rising petty crime aimed at Saudi citizens
and gun violence, while the Saudi embassy in Ankara has also warned of rising
violence aimed at Saudi citizens. The number of Saudi tourists coming to Turkey
has dropped 17 percent last year.