Port congestion and a lack of container space in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are causing shipments of polymer resins from these countries to be delayed for a few weeks to a month, some regional producers said Monday, but noted that it is usual during Ramadan.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is a period of daily fasting from sunrise to sunset, ending with the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr around August 31.
"It's usual for port congestion during Ramadan," said a source from Saudi Arabia's Sabic. "We are seeing a bit of delays ranging from a few weeks to a month."
Working hours are generally shorter during Ramadan, according to sources, and this has caused a congestion at the ports.
In the UAE, a source from Borouge also noted that export shipments were "not on schedule" due to the lack of container space.
"We need to investigate the issue," said the Borouge source. "But it seems that there were a lot of exports in the previous months and not as much imports."
Market sources say the delay surfaced last week and is expected to last until mid-September. However, the shipping delays appear to be limited to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Sources from Kuwait's Equate, Oman Polypropylene and Iran's PCC said shipments from their countries were not affected.
