The past year and a half has been one of the most challenging periods in the last half a century. The pandemic of the COVID-19 virus has taken many lives, destroyed many families and shook the very foundations of the world we live in many ways. One of these is definitely the complex system of international trade, whether we are talking about movers in Jeddah or movers in NYC. Many rules have been adopted in order to stop or contain the spread of the virus. So, how the pandemic influenced import and export restrictions across the world?
The entire international distribution process is still slowed down in many ways
Import and export, as the two sides of the same coin, still remain bogged down. Air cargo is still severely limited due to numerous restrictions in many countries. As a consequence of this, there is a limited capacity for shipping goods. This has led to further problems as the price of air cargo has increased to a range of 30-60%. This has made air travel even more complicated. To top it off, another slowing factor is the different epidemic situation in each country. The usual routes are now often much more complex than they used to be because of that.
Similar problems have been troubling the shipping ports around the world. They have endured a significant decrease in their activity of around 10-20%. While that is definitely smaller on average than the air transport, it is still too tall. More than 50 countries had implemented additional, restrictive regulations since March last year. Another thing that greatly influences the effectiveness of ports is the shortage of manpower. There are fewer people out there that can or will do the work. Also, hiring them has become more expensive due to the required protective health measures.
Pandemic influenced import and export restrictions, but things may be looking for the better
Any representative of any of the shipping companies in Dammam will tell you that the things have become really complicated in the past year and a half in regard to important and export overall. However, this is especially true if you look at the flow of medical supplies. China, for instance, was the world’s largest producer of surgical masks, with almost a half of the world’s capacity. However, two months in the last year, and the situation has changed dramatically. China had to stop exporting the masks and started importing them.
This is just one example of how the pandemic influenced trade. What has been happening around the world, as a consequence of this, is that in the past year countries have started to remove tariffs on essential medical goods. Additionally, there are planes for speeding up and simplifying the procedures for the import and the export of medical supplies. The reason is obvious – Quicker, more efficient distribution to areas in need. Hopefully, other countries will follow their lead.
