Reuters reported that the largest supermarket chains in Saudi Arabia this week joined a growing boycott of Turkish imports proposed by entrepreneurs and Saudis on social media, while activists launched counter campaigns to support the Turkish product.

Al-Othaim Markets, Danube stores, Tamimi Markets and Panda Retail Company issued statements announcing that they would stop supplying Turkish goods as soon as their stocks were sold.

"Our leaders, our government and our security are an untouchable red line," Al-Othaim Markets said in a statement on the company's Twitter account.

For its part, the Saudi government media office stated that the authorities had not imposed any restrictions on Turkish goods.

But in an apparently unofficial boycott of Turkish goods imports, signs were seen in some retail stores in the capital Riyadh last week urging customers not to buy Turkish goods, according to Reuters.

Earlier this month, Ajlan al-Ajlan, the head of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, - a non-governmental body - also called for a boycott.

Boycotting everything that is Turkish, whether on the level of import, investment or tourism, is the responsibility of every Saudi "merchant and consumer", in response to the continued hostility of the Turkish government against our leadership, our country and our citizens,

- Ajlan Al Ajlan (@ajlnalajlan) October 2, 2020

About 30 Saudi companies and commercial establishments also announced their boycott of Turkish products, in solidarity with the popular campaign calling for the cessation of commercial relations with Turkey.

Several companies, institutions and shops announced that they would stop dealing with Turkey, saying that this step is a "national duty", as they put it.

In the past period, the Twitter platform witnessed activity targeting Turkish goods and products, with the participation of verified accounts of Saudi tweets, and with the participation of activists from other countries on the communication sites.

Counter campaign

In a related context, activists launched the hashtag "Support Turkish Products" and "The Popular Campaign to Support Turkey", in response to many hashtags such as: "Boycotting Turkish products" and "Boycott Turkish products," according to what SANAD service reported.

One of the tweeters said that "the Turkish product is a job of justice, quality, taste and a country that supports refugees and helps the oppressed," in his support for Turkey and its products.

Of course, #Support_Turkish_products #Support_TurkeyTurkishTurkish


product .. do justice and quality and taste, and a country that supports refugees and

helps the

oppressed.


For Counting Support. Https://t.co/SX5quYCxf2

- Shihab Al-Mahdawi (@MahdawiShihab) October 18, 2020

Difficulties

In Turkey, exporters say they have experienced increased difficulties with Saudi Arabia;

But they had fewer problems with the Emirates, the regional trade center.

"It has been going on for a year, but pressure on businessmen in Saudi Arabia not to buy (products) made in Turkey has increased lately," said Verdi Erdogan, president of the Union of Building Material Producers in Turkey.

On October 10, eight leading Turkish business groups urged Saudi Arabia to take action to improve trade relations.

These groups - including textile exporters and contractors - said in a statement, "Any official or informal initiative to obstruct trade exchange between the two countries will have negative repercussions on our commercial relations, and will harm the economies of both countries."

The groups referred to the warning issued last month by AP Moller-Maersk Group - the world's largest container shipping company - about a potential disruption to global supply chains.


Quality

standards

and appropriate price


are the ones that determine my direction in buying any product, and


these two criteria are available in Turkish products


as well as support for an economy that adopts defending our issues as Muslims,


so I decided to

buy

Turkish product even if there was a price difference # Support_Turkish_products

- Qalam al-Watan (@yusofhhd) October 15, 2020

In a press statement on October 2, the head of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Committee, Nael Olbak, said that he had received information from members of the committee in Saudi Arabia's boycott of Turkish products, as of the first of this month, according to Anadolu Agency.

In 2019, the value of Turkish exports to the Kingdom increased to about 3.1 billion dollars.

Since the beginning of this year, neither Turkish nor Saudi trade data have shown an unusually large decline in trade exchange.

In the second quarter of the year, Turkey was ranked 12th among Saudi Arabia's trading partners on the basis of the total value of imports.

An explanatory statement from Abdullah Al-Othaim Markets Company

- Abdullah Al-Othaim Markets (@OthaimMarkets) October 16, 2020

 Figures and data

The most recent data shows that the value of Saudi Arabia's imports from Turkey amounted to about $ 185 million last July, up from nearly $ 180 million last June.

Some Saudis still see value in trade between the two countries, and Obaid Al-Osaimi said, "As a consumer, I see Turkish quality products as high, excellent and reasonable," adding that the boycott could harm Saudi consumers.

Because it will restrict their options, according to what Reuters reported.

Explanatory statement from Tamimi Markets Company pic.twitter.com/zW2PuzQQC7

Tamimi Markets (@tamimimarkets) October 17, 2020

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry website, the volume of trade exchange between the two countries in 2015 amounted to about $ 5.59 billion, and decreased in the following year to 5 billion, then to 4.84 billion in 2017, then to 4.95 billion in 2018, and then increased to $ 5.1 billion in 2019.

The trade balance tilts in Turkey's favor, and between 2015 and 2017, Turkish exports surpassed Saudi imports by about $ 1.3 billion, then the difference narrowed to $ 300 million only in 2018, before it returned to its natural level at $ 1.3 billion in 2019.

According to the latest figures on the Turkish Ministry of Trade website, Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia between January and August of this year amounted to 1.9 billion dollars, down 400 million dollars from the same period last year.

My dear, honorable Arab brothers, support the Turkish economy by purchasing Turkish products and goods.

The popular campaign to support Turkey

- Mohamed Durmaz (@M_Durmaz_Ar) October 15, 2020