Exclusive – Damascus expects trade with Iraq to grow by 50% after electronic linking
Exclusive – Damascus expects trade with Iraq to grow by 50% after electronic linking
2026-09-27
Shafaq News – Damascus
The Damascus Chamber of Commerce administration predicted on Sunday that trade exchange between Syria and Iraq would grow by between 30 and 50% during the first 12 months of implementing electronic linkage between the customs in the two countries.
Chamber board member Luay Al-Ashqar told Shafaq News Agency that the electronic linking aims to simplify procedures, exchange data, speed up transactions, and increase the capacity of border crossings, noting that the estimates are based on the experience of the Rabia crossing, whose opening contributed to raising trade exchange by 20%.
He added that the estimates aim to gradually return trade to a level between $300 and $500 million by 2027, reaching $1 billion, which is the level that prevailed before 2011, without taking into account the new oil transit revenues.
He explained that implementing electronic linking via the ASYCUDA system, and electronically verifying certificates of origin and invoices, could reduce the waiting time for trucks at border crossings from two to four days currently to hours, thus reducing ground and cooling costs and driver wages, in addition to unofficial costs, by an estimated percentage ranging between 15 and 25% of the cost of land freight.
Al-Ashqar pointed out that accelerating transit operations could reduce the prices of fresh goods, especially vegetables, fruits and dairy products, by between 8 and 12%, while the prices of industrial and pharmaceutical goods could decrease by between 5 and 7% in the markets of Damascus and Baghdad.
He explained that agriculture and food industries will be among the most prominent sectors benefiting from the electronic link, followed by pharmaceuticals, detergents, plastics and building materials, while the energy and transit sector is considered one of the main beneficiaries, with expectations of facilitating the movement of Iraqi oil tankers towards the Syrian coast.
Al-Ashqar stressed that the electronic link will contribute to increasing Syrian exports to Iraq, considering that the current problem is not in the demand, but in the procedures.
He pointed out that Iraq will make electronic verification via the “ECOR” platform mandatory starting from October 7, 2026, explaining that linking the Syrian and Iraqi customs will help companies overcome customs verification obstacles.
Regarding transit traffic, Al-Ashqar predicted that regional traffic between the Gulf, Turkey and Europe via the Al-Tanf axis would double, after increasing the port’s capacity and upgrading the 215-kilometer-long Al-Tanf-Al-Basiri road, at a cost of $150 million.
Initial investments expected from the private sector in the logistics sector are estimated at about $50 to $80 million over two years, including exchange yards, cold storage, refrigerated storage, truck fleets, customs clearance companies and customs warehouses.
He pointed out that reducing the clearance time from 72 hours to 6 hours would enhance the competitiveness of Syrian products, expecting an increase in the number of companies using the crossings, especially medium and small companies heading to the markets of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra.
He explained that transport companies will be among the immediate beneficiaries of the electronic link, as the truck, according to his estimates, can increase the number of its monthly trips from two to four or five trips, which reduces operating costs and increases the profit margin of shipping companies.
Al-Ashqar noted that the expected net reduction in costs for the exporter and importer could reach about $120-$180 per truck, which is equivalent to 10-15% of the total cost of the average shipment.
The Iraqi Border Ports Authority announced earlier on Sunday that it had agreed with the Syrian side on eight measures to facilitate the movement of trucks and travelers and the electronic exchange of customs data, including allocating new trade routes, facilitating the passage of transit trucks, and expanding the Rabia border crossing by adding 100 dunams to accommodate the increasing numbers of trucks and tankers.
The two sides also agreed to resume passenger traffic through the Al-Walid border crossing after the completion of the passport halls and designated roads, while passengers will continue to enter through the Rabia and Al-Qaim border crossings.
shafaq.com
