Saudi Arabia bans importation of animal and marine products from Turkey

RIYADH / ANKARA — Saudi authorities banned the importing of animal and marine products from Turkey on Sunday, according to the Bloomberg HT which confirmed that the General Administration for Export at the Turkish Ministry of Trade informed the concerned export authorities of the ban decision based on information from the Turkish commercial advisor to Riyadh.

Bloomberg HT reported that Turkish animal and marine products, such as meat, dairy, fish, eggs, and honey products have been banned.

The ban comes on top of a public campaign to boycott Turkish products launched in Saudi Arabia last month.

Turkey has suffered an estimated $20 billion in losses due to the popular boycott of its goods in the Arab region, economists told Saudi media outlet Al-Sharq al-Awsat.

Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Libya have seen popular boycotts of Turkish products following a call by Saudi Chamber of Commerce President Ajlan al-Ajlan in October to boycott Turkish goods in response to, “continued hostility from the Turkish government against the Kingdom’s leadership and citizens.”